Unexpected Bonds
by believer76
Summary: Emily come to apply for the position of profiler and Hotch is about to reject her out of hand believing that her mother Elizabeth Prentiss used her influence to get her the position. Once they meet they discover they are mates. Hotch and Emily are vampires
1. Chapter 1

Unexpected Bonds

Part 1

Aaron Hotchner stared out the window of his study broodingly.

Here he was a 700 year old vampire and he had yet to to find his mate. He had been reasonably happy in his work with the behavioral analyst unit of the FBI, but still being satisfied with the work that you did in tracking down criminals of one sort or another was a different kettle of fish to being happy in your personal life.

He and the other members of the team worked astonishingly well together, because while they knew what he was, they didn't mind like so many mortal people did. The world was well aware of the existence of vampires, but also shapeshifters and the FBI was also well aware of what he was.

One of the main reasons that vampires were accepted to work in any government position and not just hunted down was because of the artificial blood had been created over a hundred years ago now. So as long as every vampire stuck to that and didn't drink human blood then they wouldn't be hunted down and killed. Of course, there was the occasional rogue that believed they could kill humans just to get their substance and get away with it and those rogues were hunted down and put to death as no prison would hold a vampire and so this was the only solution.

Hotch was well aware that it helped that some of his teammates were also supernatural creatures, although he was the only vampire. Really the team was a pretty good mixture of human and others, because even though he was the only vampire, Spencer Reid and Derek Morgan were shifters, Morgan a tiger and Reid a wolf. Jason Gideon and Jennifer Jareau or JJ as she was affectionately known were human and Penelope Garcia was a magic user, or witch, but still basically considered human, just one with extra abilities.

His old mentor David Rossi had also been a vampire of extremely ancient lineage, much older than he was as he was around 1500 or so, but he had decided to retire over a decade ago. To someone as old as David Rossi chronologically he was a mere babe in the woods.

Hotch was very happy in his work with the BAU, well, except for the paperwork and he was even happier that the rest of the team had accepted him right away, but still, even though he had never admitted this out loud he was lonely. While his work for the BAU was fulfilling he hadn't had a date in longer than he cared to remember and one night stands in order to relieve his sexual tension just weren't cutting it anymore and neither was masturbating.

Unfortunately, due to the fact that vampires were basically immortal their libidos never really calmed down, although the more they matured the easier they were to control. In other words vampires were sexual creatures for the most part, so never got tired of having sex with someone specifically their mate if they found them.

Hotch admitted if only to himself that he had been lonely for decades now, but hadn't really noticed until recently, as he interviewed couples who would been devastated, because their child had either been kidnapped or found dead, even if that child was over 18.

Hotch knew that you never stopped loving your children no matter how old they got and it was mostly humans with an occasional shifter thrown in for good measure that wound up dead, if only because vampires or vampire children for that matter were nearly indestructible and not easy to kidnap and even harder to kill

Hotch raised the glass of blood to his lips and took a sip and sighed. Unfortunately, he didn't have the ability to actually sleep and so there was no escape from his rather melancholy thoughts. He truly wished that he had a partner to share his life with and he didn't particularly care if they were male or female just someone to spend those dark hours while the rest of the world slept so he wasn't so lonely. As old as he was, he had seen too many things in his long life to be disgusted with other people liking their own sex and although he knew both his parents would disapprove, probably violently he didn't particularly care if his mate was same-sex he was. What he really wanted though, was a few children, but he'd always prevented any female he had sex with from getting pregnant by using a condom as he had no intention of fathering any children until and unless he found his mate, if he ever did.

You might ask how a vampire who was immortal and technically one of the undead could father children and the answer was fairly simple they were just like any other sentient species and could have children if they so desired, no matter what books and movies portrayed them as. Books and movies portrayed them as soulless, bloodsucking leeches who didn't care about anybody, but themselves, which Hotch admit was very true for some of his kind, but then they were no different from humans who killed someone, just because that person had something they wanted, even if a lot of people, humans in particular would disagree it was still true nonetheless.

Hotch thought about the meeting he had tomorrow bright and early with a new recruit for the BAU which the team needed desperately, but he as one of the co-leaders he would not just accept anybody, as they had to be just right for the unit. Other agents had applied in the past and had either quit when they found out that their boss was a vampire or weren't suitable for the unit for one reason or another, whether that was due to arrogance, their demands, trying to take over or the fact that they couldn't work harmoniously with the rest of the team. There had even been one that had tried to push Reid out, just because he was the youngest and supposedly member. How the man that had been on probation had thought that he had the right to bully Reid out of the unit believing he didn't belong just because of his youth and his quiet personality he didn't have a clue. The agent in question had been disabused of that notion and had been forced to transfer out shortly afterwards, because there was no way that he Aaron Hotchner was going to put up with some upstart trying to bully a member of his team and Reid had earned his place years ago while that agent had been on probation, which Hotch had made sure to make clear to him with malicious satisfaction. The man had left quaking in fear, which had satisfied, his inner vampire immensely.

Oh, well, that was in the past and didn't really matter, not anymore at any rate, although Reid's self confidence had certainly taken a massive hit, before he was gone.

Hotch took another sip of his drink, sighed and having nothing better to do he continued to brood and stared out the window until dawn finally started to lighten the horizon.

~~~Unexpected Bonds~~~

Hotch and Prentiss stared at each other in astonishment.

Hotch had been all prepared to tell Emily Prentiss that she did not have a place in his unit, as he had figured that her mother Elizabeth Prentiss who was an ambassador had gotten her the job, but as soon as they had set eyes on each other they both knew that they were meant to be, simply because they were both vampires, so both felt the connection.

"Well, this is rather unexpected," Emily said being the first to speak after some minutes of silence.

"You're telling me," Hotch said the humor clear in his voice. "We need to talk, but we both know it will have to wait until after work as this is not the place for such a private conversation, even if the rest of the team knows what we are."

"Yes, yes, I agree," Emily said with a nod, although all she really wanted to do was pounce on Aaron Hotchner rip his clothes off and fuck him senseless for days and she knew that her new boss wanted to do the same to her, since he was a vampire as well.

"I admit it's going to be hard to resist that urge I know you are feeling as I'm having trouble myself, but we'll talk tonight so long as we aren't flying to some distant city," Hotch said, as calmly as possible, although he had trouble to prevent his fangs from dropping.

"Let's hope not," Emily said fervently.

"Oh, we'd still be talking after we were done for the day as it's not like we need to sleep after all," Hotch smirked. "The rest of the team needs to waste six to eight hours every night getting their rest, while we don't. I admit however, that sometimes they don't get much sleep while on a case depending on the situation, so it is understandable."

"I'm looking forward to that talk, because we both know that we are mates and that we can't really deny our connection, at least not for very long, without very bad side effects," Emily said.

"Believe me, I am aware," Hotch promised her. "I have no intention of denying the connection that is between us, but we need to have a conversation before we consummate it."

"So long as that conversation takes place soon then I don't have a problem with that," said Emily, her tone eager.

"Yes, I agree," Hotch said solemnly with a nod. "So if you don't mind I'll just ask you some general questions right now and your welcome to do the same. We'll likely be learning things about each other for the next hundred years, but we have to start somewhere."

"Ask away," Emily suggested with a smile.

"How old are you?" asked Hotch.

"In vampire years? Or how old most people believe me to be, well those that don't know what I am?" asked Emily immediately.

"Well, I say you look around 30 to 35 in human years," Hotch said, "so how old are you in vampires years."

"577," Emily answered immediately.

"Well, you're not that much younger than me, at least in vampire years as I'm 700 and I look around your age, which is 30 to 35, even though the team knows that I'm technically much older," Hotch said.

"Well, vampires don't age past a certain point and some look older or younger of course," Emily said.

"True enough," Hotch admitted with a smile thinking that his life was about to go from very staid and lonely to something else entirely, something exciting and new, which was really saying something considering how old he was. "Alright, next question do you have any brothers or sisters?"

"No, as my mother didn't really want me if you want the truth of the matter, but she decided not to get an abortion when she found out she was pregnant and we both know how hard it is to abort a vampire child anyway, but possible, so long as it happens within a week of conception," Emily answered. "Besides, abortions were illegal so far back, but that wouldn't have mattered to my mother if she had decided to do so."

Hotch actually shivered in horror at that possibility, because he knew it was only due to the fact that Emily's mother Elizabeth Prentiss hadn't had an abortion that his mate hadn't died before she had even been born. It was nearly impossible to abort a vampire baby past a certain point, though in the first week it was very possible, but after that, it wasn't possible to get rid of one of their kind as the baby had grown too much.

"So you and your mother don't get along?" asked Hotch.

"That would be the understatement of the decade, probably the century," Emily snorted. "We at the very least intensely dislike, if not outright hate each other."

Normally, there was no way that Emily would be telling a total stranger these things, but when two vampires were mates it was a totally different situation and she knew it, so she allowed herself to be honest.

Hotch then knew that there was no way that Emily's mother had pulled strings to get her into the BAU and he was ashamed that he had been unwilling to give Emily a chance to prove herself until he had found out they were mates, but now he had no intention of being parted from her so working together was icing on the cake.

"Ever been married?" Hotch asked next.

"No, although my mother did try to arrange something for me with this family that she knew," Emily said. "I was much younger back then less than a 100, around 77 or 78 if I'm remembering correctly. I had been out of my own for years, so why she believed that I would go along and get married to some total stranger, just to make her happy is beyond me, consider we've never been very close. I've been to college several times over the last few hundred years to keep up with the advancing world and criminology is a relatively new field. I went back about 25 years ago and found out that criminology really fascinated me as I took a couple introductory courses."

Hotch nodded for he had done the same just to keep up to date with the advancing modern world. "Yes, I've done the same thing and been to college several times over the last few hundred years, when I'm in between careers. So are you fully vampire or partly human or shifter or magical too?"

Hybrids were extremely rare ones that were half vampire and half human or even half shifter, but they did occur occasionally, as sometimes vampires had mates that weren't vampires themselves and were human or shifter or even a magical.

"Hybrid," Emily admitted. "While my mother is indeed a vampire, she revealed to me that my father was not. She wasn't planning to, but then I started having these weird outbursts of magic when I was like a year old, although I looked about 4 or 5. We both know that vampire children grow incredibly fast and are mature in less than half the time as any other species, even a hybrid."

"So you can do magic then," Hotch summarized.

"I've learned to do a lot of things over the centuries with magic, although I've never had any formal training, but I had to learn to control my outbursts of accidental magic, which was one of the reasons why I was so happy to get away from home. My mother absolutely refused to hire anybody to help train my talent, which was incredibly shortsighted on her part, but you can't really argue with her when she's made her mind up."

"So you don't know who your father is then?" asked Hotch.

"No, although I'm sure he's dead by now, as a magical may live longer than humans, but not as long as vampires since we're basically immortal and extremely hard to kill," Emily said shaking her head

"Any children of your own?" asked Hotch. "If you do have any it's not exactly uncommon."

"Oh, quite a few, as there is really no way to prevent me from getting pregnant unless the man in question used a condom every single time and back centuries ago such things didn't exist anyway, as condoms have only been around since the 20th century."

"No, nothing has ever been invented back and stop a female vampire even a hybrid from getting pregnant," Hotch admitted. "Really the only way to prevent pregnancy for a vampire is to have herself fixed by a vampire doctor."

"And unfortunately, it doesn't last as long as you like as the womb eventually regrows even if that's not for a few years, so you have to end up doing it again," Emily said.

"Well, I personally, think it's better than having yourself permanently fixed," Hotch said, "as at least this way we don't have to worry about children when we don't want them, but we can still have them once your womb regrows."

"Yes, that's true and varies from woman to woman," Emily admitted, "and it's not like I don't have the money to have it done a thousand times considering that I've been making money since I was technically seven years old, even though I looked grown up."

"And seven years is nothing to our kind," Hotch said.

"Well, it's a good thing that our minds are ahead of our bodies since I was technically only seven. I only wish that there was a way to permanently stop the vampire female from having children since they never get too old to actually have them," Emily said.

"There is a way," Hotch mentioned and Emily nodded.

"I know and that's for you to have an operation and unlike with us females it doesn't grow back in a few years, but I would never ask that of you," Emily said.

"If we both agreed that we'd had enough children somewhere down the line then I'm more than willing to go through it," Hotch told her sincerely. "After all I'm never going to be having sex with anybody, but you and we'll be doing it a lot, since we are mates after all and we don't need to sleep. I'll be perfectly happy to get an operation that will prevent me from getting you pregnant when we decide that we are done having babies, which likely won't be for centuries even if we only have one every 50 years or so."

"Well, I didn't expect you to be so accommodating," Emily said with relieved smile. "Most vampire men I know would never have considered going through such operation, well, not unless it was their own idea."

"We are mates, it's a totally different situation," Hotch said and Emily finally nodded. "Those vampire men, well, they likely hadn't found their mates, as a mate's needs are important. I don't need to create babies with you to show how vital I am in the sexual arena unlike a lot of men, vampire or not, so when we decide together that we don't want anymore children even if that's 1000 years from now, only then will I go through that operation that prevents it."

It had never been discovered exactly why when a vampire woman had her womb removed it grew back after a certain number of years, while when the male went through an operation it was permanent. It just seemed to be part of their species.

"We can discuss that more in-depth at a later date, as I had better get back out to the bullpen, before the rest of the team gets curious," Emily said, "but just so you know I would love to have a few children with you, although not for awhile hopefully, since we really need time to get to know each other before we go that route."

"Yes, I totally agree," Hotch said with a nod thinking that Emily Prentiss was a very intelligent lady though that wasn't surprising, because there was no such thing as a stupid vampire, though quite a few of their race did lack commonsense, creativity and could often be extremely silly, as they did tend to get stuck mentally in a certain time periods. Vampires could change, as they got older, but it was often a slow process depending on the vampire in question and their life experiences. "We'll talk about this more at my house, tonight, provided we aren't on a plane to some city."

"And if we are, well, we can just sit somewhere and talk all night as we don't need to sleep," Emily suggested and Hotch nodded in agreement.

"Yes, we can and we will if that's what occurs. Now why don't I introduce you to the rest of the team?"

"Sounds good," Emily immediately agreed.

Hotch rose from behind his desk and escorted Emily to his office door taking her by the elbow gently. Just touching his mate gently on the elbow sent an electric surge through Hotch's entire body making his cock immediately respond.

"Whoah, I wasn't expecting that," Emily said sounding out of breath and Hotch summarized that the same electric surge had passed through his mate as well.

"Neither was I and I know that the first time we have sex will be mindblowing and after that we'll be fully connected, never to be parted," Hotch said.

"I'm looking forward to it," was all Emily had time to say before Hotch opened his office door and walked through it right behind his mate

"Everyone, I'd like to introduce you to Emily Prentiss who will be joining the team..." Hotch said beginning the introductions.

~~~Unexpected Bonds~~~


	2. Chapter 2

Part 2

Emily and Hotch sat together in a coffee shop each having a mug of animal blood in front of them. Drinking animal blood was perfectly acceptable and broke no laws. In fact different kinds of animal blood where served in most places that had drink, whether that was a coffee shop, a restaurant or a bar. Vampires had been known about for thousands of years and so certain accommodations had had to be made for their species. It had been decades ago when the government had decreed that places that served food and drink had to be able to accommodate a vampire's needs as well as shifters, humans and magic users and so in today's society most places served various types of animal blood as beverages sometimes mixed with alcohol and other times straight up.

Blood was about the only substance that a vampire could consume, although alcohol was also drinkable by vampires and so drinks had been invented by the humans that combined both these elements.

Unfortunately, the team had indeed been called immediately to deal with the serial killer in San Francisco and so that conversation that Hotch and Emily had been planning on having after work had not taken place until they were done working for the night.

Now the rest of the team was asleep, except for the two of them they had found this 24 hour coffee shop and so sat in a secluded corner in order to have that conversation.

"Well, it's just our luck, that we can't have that conversation at the house you were telling me about," Emily said with a smile. She gazed at the handsome form of her mate, someone she had never expected to find, but now she would have it no other way despite the fact that they had only known each other for a day. They hadn't yet completed the bond that they shared, which would have to wait until they were back at Aaron's place in Virginia, even though she could feel the bond tingling with potential. That tingling was driving her insane with lust and desire and she knew the same was true for Aaron as well.

"Well, there was a good chance that we would be called on a case immediately," Hotch said with a shrug. "This is fine, as we can talk low enough and still hear each other, but nobody else can and listen in unless it's another vampire."

"Shifters also have excellent hearing, depending on species," Emily pointed out.

"True enough, and we'll save some of the more private stuff for when we are back home," Hotch said feeling more lighthearted and cheerful then he had in decades.

"So I believe it's my turn to ask you some questions since I didn't get the chance in your office," Emily said and Hotch nodded.

"Ask away and I'll answer honestly, as there is no point of keeping anything from you as you are my mate and it doesn't matter that we've known each other for less than 24 hours. It's not like our relationship is going to break up at some point since one mate cannot live without the other once they have been found, so keeping things from you is stupid or at least shortsighted," Hotch said.

"Definitely not," Emily immediately agreed. "Alright then, my first question is the same one you asked me in your office and that is do you have any siblings?"

"A lot of them," Hotch answered with just a hint of a smile, "considering that my parents are both vampires and although a vampire female doesn't get pregnant as easily as a human, magical or a shifter I still have over a hundred siblings, so far. They're decades apart for the most part, but then my parents aren't mates and so they don't make love as much as you and I likely will. Their marriage was arranged, which happens a lot even in the human world, but some of the older vampire families still do that kind of thing much more frequently then any other species. We live forever, unless of course, we are set on fire, because you know if somebody says rips our head off, it can be reattached with no permanent harm, even if it is extremely painful to loose a limb and even if that body part can be put back on."

"Well, we are called the undead for a reason," Emily said with a smile, "and the reason we are, is because we are extremely hard to kill even if we can permanently die with the right set of circumstances. So you have over hundred siblings then?"

"A 142 at last count," Hotch admitted ruefully.

"That's a lot," Emily said whistling appreciatively.

"Yes, well, my father is the type of person that isn't about to get himself fixed and I wouldn't be surprised to discover that I have a lot of half siblings out there since I doubt very much that he's loyal to his wife, my mother. He's also not the type of person to allow my mother to, get herself permanently fixed even if it was possible, so it's just as well."

"Why do they stay together then, instead of just going there separate ways arranged marriage or not?" asked Emily

"Beats me except to say that they were born quite a few centuries ago as they are over 800 years old and back in that day and age divorce didn't even exist."

"So in other words they're stuck together and they could separate, but they're so used to their marriage it probably has never occurred to them," Emily said.

"Well, you know a lot of vampires get stuck in their thinking and since they were born so long ago you're right it likely just never occurred to them and even if it did I doubt they would go through with it. I don't really care one way or the other since my childhood, well, let's just say that I was glad to grow up and get out on my own."

"So next question have you ever had any children?" asked Emily knowing from her mate's statement that his childhood had likely been a lot like her own with at least neglect from his parents.

"No, I was always careful in that area, as I had no intention of fathering any children until I had found my mate, if I ever did. I'm not claiming I've never had sex, because you would know that was a lie, though not much in recent decades, as I just haven't had time to tell you the truth, except a few one night stands here and there that were to relieve my sexual tension, nothing more. I've really been too busy with my work with the BAU to even think about getting myself a date and yes, I'm aware that we don't have to sleep, but I'm not one for clubs, so once I'm in for the night I usually stay in. I might go out for drinks with the team, every once in awhile if we're not on a case, but really that's about it."

"As I said I want children with you, although I hope they can wait a few years so we can get to know each other better before we bring children into the picture," Emily said.

"Well, the only way to absolutely prevent children is for you to get your womb removed and that way you won't get pregnant until it grows back, as I doubt very much I'll remember to use a condom at least some of the time. I want you so badly right now, but it's going to have to wait until we get back home," Aaron told Emily with a smirk.

"I want you to, so badly," Emily promised him her voice low, sexy and sultry.

"Keep that up and I'm going to take you right here," Hotch growled lowly, as he gave her hand a squeeze. "You're welcome to use that voice on me once we get back home and we have some time to spare, but now is not the time. I'm hoping I can last until the weekend without taking you, so that we have two full days and part of another to make love. Even after that I doubt very much I'll want to let you out of bed for at least a solid month, but we do have jobs to do."

"Yes, we do," Emily said regretfully. "Believe me, when I say I feel the same, but I worked so hard to become a member of your unit and I don't want to throw that away as pleasant as the thought of wild passionate sex with you for days on end is."

"So how many children have you had over the last also 600 years?" asked Hotch genuinely curious.

"Oh, not as many as your parents certainly," Emily smirked, "but still over the last 500 some years I have been mother to about 30 children of both sexes. A lot of times the man I was having sex with forgot to use a condom and I would remind them and some of them would obey and others would not. I could have stopped it since a lot of those lovers were completely human and therefore, they could never match my strength. I remember thinking that there's no way I would catch the first time, as a lot of those men were one night stands and yet I did a few times. I was somewhat wild and less inhibited back then and I know I should have insisted on those being using a condom or at least some kind of preventative measure. I believe subconsciously I was trying to get back at the woman who had given birth to me for her neglect."

"Most of the methods that prevent pregnancy for others don't work on our kind," Hotch said and Emily nodded.

"Believe me, I am well aware," Emily said ruefully. "I haven't gotten myself pregnant in the last hundred years at least and it has probably been longer than that."

"So I'm assuming I'll meet these 30 sons and daughters of yours at some point," Hotch said and Emily nodded.

"We keep in contact as best we can, although that has become incredibly easy nowadays. What with cell phones and email, but back when most of them were conceived and born it was much harder to keep in contact with each other, since computers hadn't even been invented yet, much less the internet and neither had telephones," Emily said. "You know one of the advantages of getting pregnant since I'm a vampire is that I'm only carrying the baby for two months before they are born, so in that way we have it much easier than any other sentient species."

"Yes, that's true," Hotch agreed, "and all you will need is a great deal of blood to be back to your normal self within hours of giving birth, so you won't even need to go on maternity leave."

"I have found that, shifter blood works best and since most hospitals carry a great deal of it, as it's donated just like normal human blood it shouldn't be a problem to get enough to see me back on my feet in just an hour," Emily advised.

"I never thought of that," Hotch murmured, "the healing properties of a shifters blood are extraordinary, as you can injure one and they'll heal within hours just so long as it's not in a vital spot and depending on the severity of the injury. There's been a few times where Morgan has been shot in the arm or the leg areas that aren't protected by the bulletproof vest and yet he never needs to go to the doctor just so long as the bullet doesn't need to be extracted. It's usually all healed up within a matter of hours."

"And us vampires have great recuperative powers of our own, but the shifter blood does speed the process along considerably," Emily said. "Of course, if we can only get normal blood then that's okay to, as I'll still heal reasonably fast. As to your suggestion to prevent myself from getting pregnant I'll go through that as soon as possible, as I really don't want a baby for at least the next 10 years, as it isn't like I'm going to get to old to get pregnant so waiting 10 years really isn't too long. However, if I happen to get pregnant sooner because my uterus grew back that's okay to, just not right now."

"Yes, I agree that we can wait a few years before even thinking about having children," Hotch said with a nod. "I want you all to myself outside the job for a few years anyway, although I would like at least a century alone with you, but I doubt we'll get that long before we have at least one child and probably more."

"No, unfortunately, I'm one of the few vampires that seems to get pregnant relatively easily," Emily admitted, "and having my womb removed is only a temporary measure to prevent it. I suppose we could keep having to remove my womb every few years when it eventually grew back and that would give us a little extra time, but we'd have to keep a very close eye on me and I'd have to go to a doctor for my kind regularly so he or she could check to see if my uterus had grown back. A vampire's womb has been known to grow back within just three or four years."

"We'll work it out," Hotch promised with a small smile that made Emily automatically smile back. "There is no rush, as we have plenty of time and even if you do happen to get pregnant vampire children grow up incredibly fast in less then half the time of any other species."

"So how are we going to handle telling the team about the fact that we are mates? It's not like we can keep it from them and I know I don't know them yet, but they'd likely be hurt that we didn't tell them."

"No, there's no way that we can't tell them, because for one thing they are profilers and would be bound to notice how close we were, probably sooner rather than later, since we're an incredibly tightknit unit. One of the reasons we work so smoothly together, with so little friction unlike a lot of agents is because we're also friends outside the job. I've always had to maintain a certain distance since I am technically their boss, but that doesn't mean I can't be friends with them to and it sure does make the team run more smoothly. Of course, all of them were handpicked either by me or by Gideon and both of us are always really careful who we place on the team, because they have to work with the others without causing friction."

"That only makes sense if you ask me," Emily said. "You don't want somebody that would try to take command even when it wasn't their place."

"Well, there was this one agent a few years back that felt that Reid didn't deserve to be on the team, because he was so young at the time and is very mild mannered. He tried his best to get Reid fired or at least transferred and when that didn't work he kept making little comments that he made sure Reid overheard."

"Why would…"

"Steven Winter," Hotch supplied understanding immediately knowing what information Emily wanted.

"Why would this Steven Winter try to do that because he should have realized that Reid wouldn't have still been on the team if he wasn't pulling his weight," asked Emily.

"A lot of agents in the FBI resent Reid. I'm sure you've heard the rumors and gossip. They resent him simply because he was pulled directly into our unit due to his intelligence. He works mostly behind the scenes, since he is not very athletic, but really that's where he works best, so the rest of the team doesn't mind and he's helped us crack more than one difficult case over the years. In any case, Winter didn't like the respect that Reid was getting for his numerous talents and in fact held him in derision. Likely because he wasn't getting the same amount of respect that Reid did, but then Winter was the newest member and respect needs to be earned, which Reid had done long ago. Reid never said anything to anybody about Winter, but then that's not his way, however, the whole team noticed, since we all tend to be overprotective of him, since he's our youngest member and just seems vulnerable. None of the team would allow anybody to pick on Reid and make nasty, untrue comments and Reid does not defend himself when that occurs, just ignores it. The whole team is not unaware that it hurts him, as he can be extremely softhearted, but he tends to internalize that hurt, as that's his way of dealing with nasty uncalled for comments, since he's not one to complain, no matter how justified. In any case, I gave Winter a chance to shape up, but he didn't and so he was gone in less than six months. I admit that Gideon and I made a mistake there, as we thought he would fit right in, but he had a vendetta against Reid from the first. I'm still not sure if he came into the unit with a vendetta or because Reid showed how intelligent he was, so Winter felt that somebody he considered a nonentity was taking all his glory if it just developed over the months they worked together."

"Personally, I think Winter only picked on Reid because he's very quiet and self-contained," Emily said. "I know I don't know him very well, but from what I have observed of him, he has a very quiet personality and I'm sure he believed that he could get Reid to quit or transfer."

"You have a point, but what Winter didn't know was that Reid might be quiet and self-contained, but he's also extremely stubborn and it would take some very drastic to him to quit a job he loves," Hotch admitted. "Winter was likely aware that there's no way that Morgan would back down if Winter had tried to do that kind of crap with him and he wouldn't have dared go against Gideon or me since I could've taken him with one hand tied behind my back and Gideon and I are both leaders of the team, so would have had him written up for insubordination and thrown him off it, which wouldn't have looked good on his **resumé**. As for JJ and Garcia, well, he probably wouldn't have bothered with them because he really didn't respect females at all, no matter how hard they worked or how intelligent they were. Of course, none of this showed up when we interviewed him or checked his personal file, otherwise, he would have politely been told that he didn't get the job and that would've been the end of it."

"So he was good at hiding his true intentions then," Emily said and Hotch nodded grimly.

"I still regret the mistake that I made because it took Reid a long time to relax, even after he was gone, as he was constantly on edge for months afterwards as if he expected Winter to come and say something nasty to him."

"Nobody is perfect Aaron and I know you try to be careful about who you choose for the team, but sometimes mistakes are made and despite the fact that we're both centuries old we're still bound to make mistakes. Sometimes even humans are exceptionally good at lying and even if you know what to look for well you can't catch everything," Emily told her mate gently. "This Steven Winters sounds like an arrogant hotdog and bully and I'm sure he would have tried to push other members off the team at some point. I wouldn't be surprised if he wanted to be the leader of the BAU and thought Reid was the weakest link in order to start accomplishing his goal. Of course, I doubt he took into account the others who were all friends with Reid and who would come to his defense."

"I know Winter was arrogant and while there is nothing wrong with this he was arrogant in the wrong way. Most of the team are arrogant sure, particularly me and Morgan, but it's more in the direction of our skills at catching unsubs then in other ways. However, I still feel incredibly guilty and I know Morgan does as well. The team is Reid's family and I feel like I let down my brother or my son, by hiring someone unsuitable to fulfill an empty position."

"So he doesn't have any siblings? That's rather unusual in the shifter family," said Emily.

"Oh, he has a few, but they hardly ever see each other," Hotch said with a shake of his head. "They are still incredibly close and they're constantly calling and emailing each other, but their lives just took different paths and Reid claims that he's so busy all the time that he doesn't have time to go up for a visit. Reid's excuse might be technically true, but he could take the time off. However, he doesn't like to leave the team shorthanded, even if it's only for a few days. I don't really have a right to butt into his private life and insist he take the time off to see at least a few of his family that are scattered all over the country, so all I can really do is suggest, but can't force the issue. Besides, Reid can be incredibly stubborn and he would just dig in his heels if I tried to urge him to visit some of his family and to take a vacation."

"So he's a workaholic," Emily said and Hotch nodded.

"That's part of it certainly, but his mother is in an institution up in Vegas where he grew up and I think he fears going to visit her," Hotch said.

"Why? She's his mother unless she's like mine..." Emily asked.

"His mother is human and has schizophrenia," Hotch explained. "It's a disease of the mind and tends to hit really intelligent people. I think he secretly fears that he'll inherit it, although I'm not sure that he can, because his father was a shifter which makes him one to and I'm not sure that his species can develop a disease like that. From what little I know about their relationship they were extremely close when he was a child as the father abandoned the family when he, his brother and two sisters were just ten."

"So Reid is one of quadruplets then," Emily said and Hotch nodded.

"He is a since the mother didn't really start developing schizophrenia until Reid and his siblings were eight or nine years old. He has half a dozen other siblings, just two more boys and the rest are girls. I believe his mother was pregnant only three times to get those ten children."

"Well, that's not surprising, since the father was a shifter and they're known to have more than one child at a time even if their spouse is human," Emily said.

"Yes, but try to support that many children when the father leaves, especially since Reid's the oldest and feels the responsibility falls on him. Reid took responsibility for all his younger siblings with his brother and two sisters help of course, but still that's a lot of responsibility for 4 ten year olds as they had to figure out a way to feed everyone since their mother was extremely ill by that time," Hotch said.

"Didn't the father leave them with any money?" asked Emily.

"As much as I hate to say this about anyone in Reid's family his father William is a useless ponce. He felt no loyalty to his wife and children, and left at the first sign of trouble. They had money, but they had to watch what they spent and that was only because the shifter community forced William Reid to support his pups when they found out about the situation. People in the shifter community would have offered to help them out, but Reid is very proud and refused. Despite that refusal the shifters still watched over that family that they considered one of their own. For the most part shifters support each other and I believe that's the only reason that Spencer and his siblings survived."

"I'm not surprised that the shifter community didn't report that those children were living practically by themselves since I know very well what schizophrenia is and if it was extremely bad the mother wouldn't have been able to help her children and ending up in a foster home, especially separate ones, would likely have been worse, but there is no way that a single foster family is going to take on ten children."

"Luckily, the shifter community stepped in and helped out in subtle ways and although Reid knew about it he didn't complain, because it wasn't obvious and he knew deep down that he needed all the help he could get to feed his siblings and himself. When Reid and his three siblings that were the same age went to college at 13, since they're all brilliant, one of the shifter families that lived in the neighborhood offered to look after the other six and actually took them into their home and also kept a close eye on their mother as well, making sure she ate and took care of herself."

"Now that's generosity and compassion," Emily said approvingly. "Helping another family when they've fallen on hard times through no fault of their own is how it should be. If the other species on this planet were more like that the humans especially and also our own kind there would be far fewer criminals in the world. I'm not saying there wouldn't still be a lot of crime, as there are some humans that showing compassion and kindness to isn't going to fix, but we would certainly have less of say a housewife being beaten by her husband."

"Or a child being abused or taken advantage of," Hotch agreed. "The shifters as a whole, but particularly wolf shifters, are known for their compassion and willingness to help out one of their own, but also for their fierceness to protect their family and friends, even if there are occasional aberrations like Reid's father."

"Every species has it's bad eggs and William Reid sounds more uncaring of anybody's feelings, but his own, even his family's, then he's really criminal material," Emily suggested. "I've known some vampires over the centuries that all they want to do is use the human, magical and shifter races as a blood supply by making them their slaves, but we both know that's never going to happen, because they'd be hunted down by their own species and put to death. Yes, we do have the occasional vampire that believes that there'll never be caught and so decides to hunt humans, but it doesn't happen very often."

"And they usually are caught pretty quickly," Hotch agreed. "Yes, you're right every species has it's aberrations. Mostly those vampires decide to hunt humans because they refuse to learn control, are made not born."

It was possible to turn a human, magical or even a shifter into a vampire by removing some of it's blood and replacing it with a vampire's venom. Unfortunately, it was an extremely painful process that took at least two full days and sometimes three depending on the person and there was no way to prevent the pain as it was necessary to cleanse all the imperfections that either species had away. What was really amazing though was in the shifter's case, they would still be able to transform into their animal shape once the venom had finished changing them into one of the undead. It had never been discovered exactly why a shifter kept their animal shape just that they did. The theory was that it wasn't the blood that supported the change, but something in the genes, although it had never been proven one way or the other, so it was nothing more then a theory.

"Yes, I am aware," Emily said. "In over 90% of cases it's a vampire that was made that goes about killing humans, although sometimes the ones that're born do that too, but it's a much smaller percentage."

"I know Reid could give you the exact numbers," Hotch said with a smile. "You'll find he's a man of statistics, among other things."

"I'm looking forward to getting to know him as he seems like somebody I could come to consider a little brother," Emily said with a smile that made her entire face light up.

"Oh, you will, and you'll come to be very protective of him like we all are, just because he seems to need it, even if that's not precisely true as Reid is capable of protecting himself, he's just one of those people that you want to be a parent to," Hotch smirked.

"I'm looking forward to working with you and the rest of the team to, of course. However, I was thinking that I'm going enjoy not being separated from you why you're off in some distant city."

"Great minds think alike," Hotch smirked, "as I was thinking the same thing just a few minutes ago that is going to be great to work with you and not be separated for days at a time and there is nothing that Erin Strauss can do about it."

"Oh, yeah, I met her before I had that meeting with you and I didn't like her very much she seemed like a very vain, mean-spirited and deceitful human," Emily said making a face.

"Oh, she is and she hates me in particular," Hotch said. "Of course, she doesn't like vampires in general, but she really has a grudge against me."

"Any idea why?" asked Emily.

"I have my suspicions and if what I am thinking is correct I have no interest in taking her position. I mean she's human and all I would have to do would be to wait until she retires and then take it if that's what I really wanted, but I have no intention of being stuck behind a desk as I don't enjoy that kind of thing and I would become bored very quickly. It might also have something to do with the fact that the team does't always go by the book as it doesn't cover everything and a situation can develop very quickly. Besides, times are changing and the FBI needs to change with it or it will become obsolete. Personally, I have enough paperwork to deal with now and if I became section chief I'd have even more not something I aspire to."

"Yeah, I'm not somebody who does well behind a desk either, as I prefer to use my brain to figure things out and also the action of chasing unsubs. I would never be very happy as a diplomat for instance, which is what my mother wanted me to become. However, I know I would have been bored silly with all the careful negotiations. I likely would have run out of patience very quickly and ruined whatever we were trying to accomplish and I definitely don't have the patience for all the fancy parties that are involved in that kind thing, likely because I had to go through so many of them from the time I was about two years old, although I looked about 10 or 11 at that point. I just don't have the temperament I guess you could say as I'm more of an action type person somebody who runs after a pickpocket for instance, instead of letting him get away."

Hotch actually chuckled at that, as he could definitely see his mate chasing after a pickpocket that tried to steal from someone.

"So did your parents ever try to arrange a marriage for you?" Emily asked next as soon as her mate had finished laughing. "You know that my mother tried to arrange one for me and I wasn't about to agree to it, as there was no way I was going to be forced to marry somebody I had met once or twice and who would have bored me to tears in less than a year I'm sure. If I had I would have been stuck with him for eternity, since he was also a vampire."

"Yes, my parents did try, just as yours did, as they are a lot like your mother very stiff and old-fashioned, but then they're over 800 years old, so I suppose it's not surprising, but as you can tell I went out on my own and broke off all contact with them completely. I do try to keep in contact with all my siblings, but considering I have over a hundred of them that's not very easy. In fact, I just heard from my youngest siblings who all over the 40 years old at this point and about how all parents tried to arrange a marriage for all three of them and how they refused. I really don't know why my parents keep trying, as every single one of their children is too strong willed to agree to an arrangement that would only make them miserable. To try to arrange a marriage for one of our kind is ridiculous, since we live forever. Why make yourself miserable for eternity?"

"So your three youngest siblings are triplets then?" asked Emily and Hotch nodded. "That's pretty unusual for a vampire family, although possible of course."

"It's not really all that unusual when you have nearly 150 children from one set of vampires," Hotch said. "Most vampires don't have that many children throughout their lives, especially not for an arranged marriage, but my father really doesn't care about my mother at all and I know he doesn't think of her as anything, but a housewife and a baby factory. Of course, I could understand that attitude 800 years ago since woman didn't have any freedom back then and were considered property, but today it's ridiculous and they really need to change with the times, not that it will ever happen. It's very possible that the two of us for instance will have multiple sets of twins, triplets and more in our centuries together. Not for every pregnancy of course, but I've heard that mates make love as much as they possibly can and I doubt we'll be doing much else when we have free time."

"Yes, I've heard the same things," Emily said with a nod and a sappy grin as she imagined that, "and I can't wait to find out if it's true. The way I feel about you, even though we've only known each other for a day have already intensified so much from when we first met in your office less than 24 hours ago and I know that our bond will only continue to strengthen throughout our centuries together. We can make love for days thanks to the fact that we don't need to sleep, although we do need to make sure we feed regularly, as a hungry vampire is an out-of-control vampire."

"Yes, that's true, but I have found that I really don't need to feed more than once a week or so depending on how much energy I use. Since I haven't had human blood in a 100 years since that artificial stuff was invented I have found that drinking about 4 pints of that in a day will last me for at least a week."

"Well, I don't need as much as you, but then I'm not as big as you either," Emily smiled, "so normally 2 to 3 pints a week is enough for me. I have to admit I miss drinking human blood straight and fresh from the tap, but I do understand that that would only get me hunted down and killed. Well, unless you get it legally from a hospital for emergencies."

"Yes, I have to admit that there is no comparison between human blood and that artificial stuff," Hotch admitted. "However, it's necessary if we don't want to find ourselves hunted down by the vampire community and put to death, and you know that they would do exactly that as vampires have never had it so good and rogues make us all look bad."

"Besides, both of us believe in justice too deeply to go back to hunting humans, now that there is an alternative, no matter how much fun it would be," Emily said.

"There is that," Hotch agreed. "However, I do hunt the occasional human, those that abuse children, especially those rape them. I just make sure that I'm never caught for the deed, just bury the body somewhere it is unlikely to be found at least until all the evidence has been eroded away."

"Well, we're a lot alike," Emily said with a smirk, "as I do the same as I hate child abusers."

"With our childhoods that's not surprising," Hotch admitted giving her hand yet another squeeze to let her know that he more than understood.

"We both know that putting the type of criminal in prison wouldn't do a bit of good, since they seem to have compulsion to keep doing it, so really this is the only way to make sure they never abuse a child again," Emily said returning the squeeze.

"I can't afford to make those type of criminals disappear too often, but every few years I come across someone so vile that killing them permanently is the only solution," Hotch admitted quietly.

"We can try using different methods every time," Emily suggested. "Like one time one will end up with a broken neck for instance. Nothing similar, so that there's nothing for anybody even the team to get suspicious about."

"That's not a bad idea," Hotch mused. "I never bite them and drink their blood, as that would just make me very hungry for more human blood and it took a lot of break the habit, so it isn't worth the risk. I can still taste the warm coppery liquid as it flows over my tongue, but I try not to think about it too much, as that just makes me intensely crave something I can't have."

"I can definitely sympathize," Emily agreed sympathetically. "Draining a human's blood just gives vampires a bad name and we don't want that, as to many people don't trust us as it is."

"True," Hotch agreed. "I think we need to vary our methods like you suggested if we are going to do this. Normally, I'm one that believes in justice, but we both know that their are certain types of criminals that seem to have a compulsion to do what they do."

"And just putting them in jail isn't going to fix the problem, not unless they get a life sentence or the death penalty," Emily said, by way of agreement.

"If we do, do this we can never let the team know, because well, it's likely that they would turn us in and even if they didn't our teamwork would be broken as would their trust as they don't understand vampire values. Every species has different values, morals and ethics and mine say to not let a child abuser go free and that prison does no good, especially for those who physically abuse. Besides, they're family whether or not they are actually related by blood or through marriage and I would never want to lose that. Oh, I know that they'll die in their own time, but that's still decades away and since shapeshifters can live to be 150 years for Morgan and Reid and that's over a hundred years away."

"I certainly won't say anything, because I agree there's no need to mention in what we do on our time off and I doubt very much that the team would suspect that we were behind those deaths, even if there started to be a pattern, but still it's better to be safe."

Hotch and Emily continued to talk, their voices mere whispers until the early hours of the morning and it was time to go back to their hotel rooms and get showers and change their clothes for another day of chasing their current unsub.

~~~Unexpected Bonds~~~


	3. Chapter 3

Part 3

"So you and Hotch seem awfully close," Morgan asked his new teammate a little curiously.

"Yeah, I noticed that," JJ said slowly, "but I figured it was just my imagination. I mean the two of them never met before three days ago, at least as far as I know."

Hotch and Emily exchanged looks that spoke volumes and Hotch nodded. Hotch had known that there was no way to keep his new relationship with Emily under wraps and he'd had no intention of doing so, but he had just wanted a little bit more time to keep their relationship to themselves with no interference from Gideon in particular. He should've known that Morgan was very observant and would pick up on the energy that seemed to flow between the two of them.

"No, we've never met before 72 hours ago," Emily told the rest of the team. "However, unlike humans or magicals, vampires and shifters have only one mate and that mate is for the rest of their lives no matter how long or short that may be."

"So you saying that the two of you are soulmates," asked Gideon who had been silent up until then.

"Yes," Hotch said staring at Gideon telling him silently that he had no say in the matter. "I certainly didn't expect it and Emily certainly didn't either, but the minute she walked into my office that first day we both knew."

"A vampire's mating instinct is incredibly strong and they know the second they have found the one," Emily continued taking Hotch's hand in her own. "This doesn't really happen too often because you can search all the world and still not find the one meant for you, either because they're not yet born, or because they died a very long time ago or because the world is a very big place, with billions of people. I certainly never expected Aaron to not only be a vampire, but also my mate when I walked into his office just three days ago, but we are and there's no changing it. Neither one of us could anymore resist our mating instincts, then any of you could resist bringing a criminal justice. Even though I've only been part of the team for three days I've noticed that all of you believe in justice and bringing in criminals to make sure they pay for their crimes. You believe in justice so strongly that you work yourselves until you're so tired you can barely see straight, so that no more innocent people are killed."

"So you're saying that this being mate's thing..." Gideon began.

"It's not up for discussion as it is irreversible, even if either I or Emily wanted to reverse it," Hotch said in a tone that told everyone he'd have no one trying to come between him and Emily. "Once you have found the person meant for you whether that's another vampire, a human, a magical or a shapeshifter well that's the end of the line. A vampire who has found their mate will never be sexually attracted to another, full stop and be miserable without them. Like shifters we just know when we have found the one for us and I'm not about to fight the bond that I have with Emily. I wouldn't win anyway, so why would I bother to try when it's just my inner vampire telling me that I have found the one I'm supposed to spend the rest of my existence with?"

"No one has ever broken the bond between mates and if any of you try I guarantee you that neither one of us will be happy with you interfering in our just budding relationship," Emily added.

"You might not understand about mate bonds that both vampires have, but since shifters have them as well Morgan and I are probably the only ones that can come close to understanding what is between Hotch and Emily," Spencer put in speaking for the first time. "I know I haven't found my mate and I might never find them, but thanks to some shifters that grew up in the same neighborhood as my siblings and I, well, they taught us everything we needed to know about our kind in general and wolf shifters in particular. I will always be grateful to them because my father taught his pups absolutely nothing about what it meant to be a shifter, particularly a wolf shifter. If the bond between vampires is anything close to what the bond is supposed to be between shifters, well, then Hotch and Prentiss are absolutely correct and there's no changing it. Personally, I'm very happy for them as finding love, true love is extremely rare in today's world and anybody who has found it needs to hold on tight and not fight against it."

"Thank you, Reid," Hotch told his subordinate with a genuine smile.

"You're welcome," Reid said with a smile of his own. "Just make sure you invite me to the wedding."

"Wedding? Isn't it a little send be talking about a wedding?" Gideon protested.

"Oh, Emily and I haven't discussed that yet since we have only known each other three days, but we'll get around to it, once we get to know each other better," Hotch informed his old friend calmly, but with a warning look in his dark eyes.

"I thought we'd gotten to know each other pretty well considering that all we've been doing is talking for the last three days while the rest of the team is asleep," Emily smiled at Hotch.

"You know that really makes perfect sense," JJ commented having been mostly silent up until now. "Vampires don't need to sleep, so it's a good time for the two of them to talk while the rest of us are getting our rest. By the way congratulations from me too and I hope you'll invite me to the wedding."

"Thank you, JJ," Emily told her new friend with a smile.

"You're welcome, but I agree with Spence and I'm genuinely happy for you two, because Reid is right and true love, even if it's very sudden is a rare and precious gift. I know that us humans don't have such things as one mate, so I'm often envious of those that have found true love whether that's shifter, vampire or human."

Thank you JJ," Emily said smiling a her new friend

"I don't really care if you disapprove or not Gideon," Hotch told his longtime friend bluntly. "I was already a part of this world before your grandfather 10 times removed was a sparkle in his parents eyes."

"And I'm only a little bit younger than Aaron just over a hundred years or so, so I've also been a part of this world for a very long time just as Hotch has," Emily added.

"Both Emily and I have been all over the world, back before there was such things as trains, cars, planes, televisions or even flush toilets. Traveling was much harder and took longer in those days, but the point I'm trying to make is neither one of us is a child that doesn't know what we are talking about."

"Alright, alright," Gideon said holding up his hands in self-defense. "You just caught me by surprise that's all. So long as it doesn't affect your professionalism on the job then I won't interfere."

"We're not some teenagers with our hormones out of control, Jason," Hotch sand rolling his eyes. "Yes, the pull of the mate bond between us is incredibly strong and we haven't even had a chance to consummate it yet, but we're not going to act unprofessional on the job just because of the bond."

"If the two of us can stop from ripping each others clothes off, while we are on a case, because resisting is incredibly difficult, then I do believe we're not going to have any problems," Emily added with a smirk.

"I really didn't need that image in my head, Emily," Morgan protested.

"It isn't likely to be so squeamish Morgan," Reid teased his friend. "Aren't you always telling everybody about your latest conquest even when we tell you we don't want to hear it? I wouldn't think you'd be so squeamish, just from Emily being so blunt."

"I'm sorry Morgan, but we're trying to make a point," Hotch told his friend, not even looking embarrassed at his mate's rather blunt words. In fact he thought they were rather appropriate given the situation. "Once we consummate, the desire will still be there, but it will be more manageable. Gideon should know that I'm professional enough to keep my private life exactly that—private, since we've been friends for years."

"All right, you're right, I apologize," Gideon said wanting to desperately change the subject.

The whole team was silent as they flew towards home, but finally JJ broached the subject that had been on her mind, "You've been awfully silent Morgan. I figured that you would have an opinion about Hotch's and Emily's relationship."

"I was just trying to absorb the news as it wasn't exactly expected," Morgan said and everybody agreed with that. "However, I agree with Reid that if the bond between them is anything like the shifter one is supposed to be then it's bound to be incredibly strong and as far as I know there's no way to break something like that and that's even if they wanted to, which I don't see as a viable option."

"Definitely not," Emily chipped in and Hotch nodded firmly.

"What I'm trying to say is I'm very happy for the pair of them as Hotch said it's extremely rare when one of his kind meet their mate and I'm hoping the same thing happens to me someday. I could just marry someone I know, but I'd rather wait for the right person, because our jobs are such that it will take somebody with incredible strength of character to put up with my hours and not be demanding a divorce or that I switch jobs after a few years. Besides, my parents were always very happy together, until my father was killed and I want the same thing for myself."

"Thank you, Morgan," Emily told her friend.

"You're welcome, although there's no need to thank me, because both you and Hotch were right when you said that you both are older than any of us, so you certainly have the right to make your own decisions. Besides, if I did cause you any trouble Garcia would have my ass in a sling as you know she'll be very happy for the pair of you once she finds out and probably want to help plan your wedding whenever you decide to do that," Morgan said.

"So you're real reason for you accepting that Emily and Hotch are together so easily comes out," Reid teased his friend. "You don't want Garcia mad at you, not that I can blame you for that, as her form of revenge an be rather unique."

"That's not really the reason, because as I said it's none of my business since they're not children that need their parents to supervise them," Morgan said. "Their business is their own, although that doesn't mean I'm not truly happy that they found each other, because I know very well that the odds of shifters or vampires for that matter finding their mates are extremely low. Personally, I think that they deserve it, as I knew that Hotch at least was lonely, even if his work kept him occupied. However, we have to remember that vampires don't sleep so he didn't even have that escape from his loneliness."

"And here I thought I was doing to good job of hiding it," Hotch said with humor in his tone.

"You do," JJ told her boss. "However, it's kind of hard to hide that kind of thing from people you work with for so many hours of the day and who are very close to you, well, like a family. We are your friends as well as your subordinates and we probably know you best out of anyone."

"All of us knew that you were lonely, however, there wasn't really anything we could do about it," Reid added. "You've been lonely for years, probably even decades, which is why all of us are happy that you and Emily found each other."

"Well," Hotch said with a twitch of his lips in what was a repressed smile, "I had no idea that any of you had noticed my loneliness, but thank you for caring."

"No thanks necessary," JJ told her boss. "Maybe now though, you'll get out and do some things when we have free time, instead of going directly home to brood, if I'm any judge."

"Well, it looks like I can't hide anything from you," Hotch said with another twitch of his lips.

"We are profilers," Morgan teased Hotch. "We wouldn't be members of the BAU if we weren't intelligent and observant."

"That's true enough, Morgan," Gideon said speaking for the first time in quite awhile, although he had been listening to the conversation. "I'm truly happy for you as well and I'm sorry if I argued before you shocked the hell out of me, although I suppose I shouldn't have been. I too had noticed that you were lonely, but like the others I didn't know anything I could really do about it."

"Strauss isn't going to like this you know," Morgan mentioned.

"We know," both Hotch and Emily answered at the same time causing the others to smile.

"However, it doesn't really matter, because if she tries to transfer one of us well we'll both take it higher up. She'll just have to accept the fact that we're mates and mates cannot be separated unless they want to be and it doesn't matter how it came about, just that it is."

"She is human so she doesn't understand about bond that can pop up between vampires or shifters," Emily added. "She might not even believe in them because a lot of humans do not, but whether she believes in soulmates or not is inconsequential."

"Now most of the time when a vampire finds their mate they have different professions and this is totally acceptable, even if one of them travels a great deal for there job. The deciding factor here though is that those mates are not being forced to separate, but are doing something that they love and therefore, it is their decisions too continue. No vampire couple will have such a decision forced on them by somebody who does not understand about mate bonds or the consequences of trying to force two people who are meant to be together apart."

"What precisely do you mean by that?" Gideon asked the pair carefully.

"Well, it has been known to cause that vampire couple to get violent on the person trying to separate them for their own ends," Emily explained. "Vampires tend to be extremely territorial and don't like anybody entering it without their permission. Vampires have extremely strong instincts, especially when it comes to protecting their family or their mate. Occasionally when somebody tries to come between a mated couple at best it will lead to that person getting a grievous injury, like losing an arm or leg and at worst it will lead to their death."

"Whoah! You don't mess around!" Morgan said.

"As Emily said, as vampires our instincts are incredibly strong, Morgan, this is especially true of our protective instincts. A vampire's protective instincts when it comes to their mates are so strong that they will automatically fight at the merest hint of danger to their mate or their children, they will be determined to protect both," Hotch explained. "Now while some of our kind can control their actions, when it comes to that type of scenario, others cannot. Also we have laws of our own and one of those laws is that nobody is allowed to come between a mated couple, and it doesn't matter if it's another vampire, a shifter, a human or a magical. Try to come between a mated couple and you face the consequences."

"The reason for this, is that if something happens to one of the mates then the other will follow them into death shortly afterwards, usually within hours or at most days, as one cannot live without the other," Emily added. "Yes, we are incredibly hard to kill, but we can still die."

"You all know more about vampire law then 95% of the populace, because we encounter all types in our work and some species are incredibly easy to offend, so it's just best to avoid problems whenever possible," Hotch added.

"We know that, Hotch," JJ said gently. "More than one agent has been run out of a town because they were rude to the wrong person."

"Believe me, I've heard stories," Emily said, rolling her eyes in exasperation. "I don't doubt for a moment they're true, although they've probably been exaggerated somewhat over time. My point is, that I've worked with agents in other departments, agents that didn't think I belonged in the FBI just because I was female or because I was a vampire or both. Really those stories don't surprise me in the slightest or that some agents were run out of town, because they were rude to the wrong person. Or because they tried to push the local cops out, ones that knew the people and the territory and could've been a great help if they had been asked politely."

"Unfortunately, the FBI is filled with arrogant agents, who want all the glory for themselves, instead of cooperating with the local population and the police force who could help," Morgan said. "It's really no wonder that we always have to prove ourselves every time we go to a different city and even if it's the same city it's often a different police station, with cops that don't know how we operate, so we have to prove ourselves again and mostly because they've heard bad things about arrogant FBI agents who try to push the local cops off the case."

"And often succeed, which just breeds resentment and makes our jobs harder," JJ added.

"It does," Gideon said, "it might be nice to actually come into some city to help out and have the local LEOs welcome you instead of resenting your presence, even if they desperately need your help and so called you there."

"We handle it, we always do, no matter how frustrating the lack of cooperation is," Hotch said. "However, none of us would do what we do we couldn't handle that resentment."

"True enough," JJ agreed, "but as Gideon said it would be nice if we occasionally went into a situation where our presence wasn't at least resented or at worse outright hated."

"We always win the local cops over in the end," Reid said, "because of our willingness to work with them and our teamwork."

"But until we do they just make our jobs harder," Emily commented and the others totally agreed with that.

"So how are you going to handle it when some female officer comes onto you Hotch or a male in your case Emily?" Morgan asked the pair of lovebirds. "You know it's going to happen at some point."

"I'll handle it like I always do," Hotch said with a shrug. "I'll make it clear I'm not interested. That Emily and I are vampires isn't really obvious unless you're very observant, since our eyes aren't red like in the movies. Sure we have pale skin, but that can be explained away as a medical condition albinism for instance, or the fact that our skin is ice cold to be explained by poor circulation or something similar. Yes, other vampires are going know what we are immediately and shifters as well thanks to their rather keen senses, their hearing in particular. However, most humans or magicals won't have a clue, because they won't be able to tell that we don't have beating hearts because their hearing is not that acute. If the situation comes up where some officer or other person comes onto either Emily or me we'll handle it without violence, as we're both old enough to be in control of our emotions. It's mostly young vampires that can't control themselves and therefore, this is why the person who interfered between mates ends up missing limbs. Both Emily and I are the calm, serious and steady types and we're not going to lose our tempers and tear some asshole LEO to bits, no matter how deserving it might be."

"A vampire's emotions are at least five times stronger than any other sentient species," Emily explained. "This is especially true for those that are less than a hundred years old as it takes awhile to learn to control your very strong emotions. A human, magical or a shifter can't feel as strong an emotion as a vampire, because their nervous systems aren't designed to handle an emotion that is at least five times stronger than any sentient species is able to produce. Well, at least not without side effects, like making your body incredibly tired as if you've been working for a couple of days with no sleep. However, thanks to us being the undead that doesn't happen and if one of us loses our temper we've been known to destroy objects and it doesn't matter if it's made out of wood or stone or even diamond as a vampire's strength is incredible."

"The point Emily's trying to make is that mere human flesh would be no problem for us to rip to shreds, but that both Emily and I are mature enough not to lose our tempers if somebody makes a pass at us, which we all know will happen at some point."

"So in other what you're saying that you can control yourselves from doing any damage to somebody who makes a pass at one you," Gideon said and Emily and Hotch nodded.

"We'll never doubt each other's loyalty, simply because, as I said once you've found your mate you'll never be sexually attracted to anybody else. In other words, neither one of us will ever get jealous if someone makes a pass at us, though we'll certainly put that person in their place and make it obvious that we're both unavailable."

"As vampires we are naturally attractive and that attracts both males and females like moths to a flame. The reason for this, is I'm sure you know is to attract our prey so that we can drain them. Thanks to that artificial blood that was invented about 100 years ago though that is no longer necessary. While we are still more than five times as attractive to any other species, thanks to having no imperfections or blemishes, the allure that we used to have is much diminished, although still present," Emily added.

"Because our allure isn't as strong as it was before the invention of the artificial blood that all vampires naturally have, we might have the occasional human, magical or shifter coming on to us because of it, but it certainly won't be as bad," Hotch said. "I can remember times before the artificial blood was invented where women and even some men approached and came onto me and it happened a lot more frequently than it does today."

"And what did you do when that happen?" Gideon asked afraid he already knew the answer. Gideon was well aware that Hotch was a vampire and one of the things the movies had actually gotten right was that they had to drink some form of blood in order to survive, although for a long time the vampires had believed only human blood would work. Vampires had been around for thousands of years longer then Hotch had been, so Gideon could definitely see how Hotch's species had believed that human blood was the only solution to their survival.

"It depended on the situation," Hotch said vaguely refusing to give details. Yes, the whole team knew intellectually exactly what he had done in those situations, but this was one of those things that they didn't need to hear confirmed. Hotch never talked much about his past and there was a very good reason for that. Both he and Emily had drunk human blood for hundreds of years until the artificial had been invented, as it had never occurred to either one of them that they could drink animal blood, because that wasn't how vampires thought. They had been taught since early childhood that drinking human blood was the only way that they could survive and their senses not shut down. Emily, who was partly human could eat human food as well as drink blood, but doing that didn't give her enhanced strength, hearing or smell like blood did and so his mate rarely ate human food, even though she could. Besides, eating human food she would also have human moments, like having to use the restroom for example until all the food was expelled from her system, which was another reason to stick to blood as then that wasn't necessary.

The rest of the plane ride was silent as the others absorbed what they had been told.

~~~Unexpected Bonds~~~


	4. Chapter 4

Part 4

"Alone at last," Emily's sighed, as she entered the house that was really more of a mansion, for the first time.

"Yes, it's been a long three days and the team has tomorrow off, since it's Saturday, unless of course, something unexpected happens. We just happened to catch a case in the middle of the week and it's just my luck that you had a scheduled interview on Wednesday instead of Monday or Friday, which is normally when I interview someone and the case lasted just long enough to take us to late Friday," Hotch agreed.

"So what are you and I going to do for the next 2 1/2 days?" Emily smirked already knowing the answer.

"Well, it involves you buck naked with me on top of you fucking you senseless, just like I've been wanting to do ever since you entered my office over three days ago," Hotch smirked right back.

"I like that plan," Emily approved already starting to strip yourself of her clothes, as she couldn't allow her mate to rip them from her body since all her stuff was still at her apartment, well, except for the stuff in her go bag. "I've been looking forward to you doing exactly that ever since the two of us met and how I stopped myself from just ripping your clothes off, even in public, is beyond me as you smell absolutely divine and you make my hormones react like a teenager's. If I had an actual beating heart you would've heard it pounding and saw all the sweat that popped out on my forehead from my hormonal reactions."

"Oh, I knew," Hotch smirked an expression that drove Emily absolutely wild with desire. "Believe me, I could smell your arousal for me from 15 feet away and it's a good thing nobody else could, particularly the males, because they would've been sure that you were getting aroused because of them and not because of me."

"What can I say, except that it wasn't only your smell that was driving me absolutely insane with desire and lust," Emily said silkily, as she threw her clothes into a corner not caring if they got wrinkled or not.

Hotch had also removed his clothes as the two of them had been bantering back and forth and headed towards the bed so that he could turn it down, only to have Emily wave her hand and for the bed to silently unmake itself, the sheets folding down neatly at the bottom.

"Well, that's certainly a useful talent to have," Hotch commented with only a quirk of his eyebrow.

"I'll demonstrate some of the other things I've picked up over the years," Emily promise, "but later. For now however, I want you."

Hotch needed no further encouragement and pounced on his mate gently picking her up and placing her on the now turned down bed.

"If you think you're the only one that had trouble controlling themselves as we worked with the police of San Francisco, then you have another thing coming. How I stopped myself from pouncing on you and ripping off your clothes is beyond me," Hotch growled. He was basically repeating exactly what Emily had just said, not that that made it any less true.

Emily just giggled, but encouraged him silently by winking saucily at him.

"You drive me absolutely mad," Hotch said his voice a low husky growl. "I haven't even done anything to you yet or you to me and yet my cock is ready to go, but then it has been ready to ram itself into you for the past three days, ever since the second we met, so that's unsurprising."

"So get on with it, as there's no need to be gentle with me, like I know you would have had to be with a shifter, magical or a human, as I'm not going to break like they could have. Be as rough as you like, and I promise you I won't only not object, but participate quite enthusiastically," Emily encouraged him eagerly.

Hotch needed no farther invitation and so he immediately attacked his mate with his mouth.

A vampire's skin was as hard as stone to anybody except another vampire and the same was true for Emily despite the fact that she was a hybrid and not a full vampire. However, to Hotch, Emily's skin was incredibly soft, smooth with no blemishes and the perfect place to put his mouth.

Hotch ran his hand around Emily's breast pinching her nipple causing her to make little mewling sounds and for her body to nearly buck off the bed.

Oh! Oh! More, Aaron, more!" Emily begged her voice nearly incoherent with the pleasure that was at least three or four times as strong as it would be for humans, magicals or even shifters. She had never felt pleasure, so strong so fast and that would have likely knocked her unconscious if that wasn't impossible. Emily wasn't sure if it was due to the fact that she and Aaron were mates or not, but her body's reactions were much stronger than she had ever experienced, especially considering that her mate had hardly done anything to her yet.

"Do I have your permission to mark you? Mark you in such a way that everybody will know you are mine, particularly other vampires?" Hotch's voice suddenly growled. His hand continued pinching her nipples and other places on her body, which was a pleasant contrast to what he had been doing just minute ago and that was licking his way over her breasts and stomach leaving a trail of venom all along the way. Now if the venom had landed on a human or a shifter's skin it would have smoked and caused that person great pain and damage to the skin. This was why when a vampire was making love to somebody that was not their own kind they had to be extremely careful and make sure that they never extended their fangs as that was where the venom came from. Now it was possible to turn a shifter or a human into a vampire, but the process was excruciating. However, unlike a human a vampire's mouth and tongue were completely dry with no kind of liquid whether that was blood or water needed to keep the mouth moist as it wasn't necessary.

With Emily, however, Hotch knew he didn't need to be careful because his mate had the same stonelike skin that he did and therefore, it was okay to let his fangs extend and use the venom they contained to wet his mouth so that he could use it on his mate's body.

"Of course, you can," Emily answered immediately sounding out of breath. "This is what mates do to each other, so you don't really need my permission, as I certainly intend to do the same to you before we are done."

"I know, but I thought it would be polite to ask whether you minded having a scar where it's visible," Hotch explained the smugness clear in his voice.

"I want everybody to know that I am yours or at least that I'm off the market," Emily said.

"Good," Hotch growled sounding extremely possessive, but then that's the way his inner vampire was feeling at the moment and that was possessive of the woman that was laying on her back beneath him.

It had been hard to concentrate for the last three days as the two of them worked closely together to catch the serial killer that was plaguing San Francisco. They had managed to do it, but now they were all alone in Hotch's house that had to have over 50 bedrooms and Emily wouldn't be surprised if it was considerably more, since it was at least five or six floors. It was one of the biggest houses and she had seen in quite awhile.

Emily was sure that Aaron had houses/condos all over the world as vampires tended to acquire a lot of property in their centuries of life, as it was a good investment. Most vampires didn't stay in one place for more than a few years, as they tended to get restless and have wanderlust and 50 years in one city was nothing to a vampire.

Emily did wonder however, why Aaron hadn't bought a condo instead of this huge place that had so many bedrooms, especially since he lived alone and had no children.

Hotch went back to what he had been doing and that was lavishing his mate's gorgeous body with attention. His, Emily was a knockout and would be even if she wasn't half vampire and he would take pride when other men ogled his beautiful mate who would hopefully, someday be his wife. Hotch didn't mind if men ogled her, but if any man tried to actually come over and get her attention then he would immediately stake a claim on his territory. Of course, he intended to put the more aggressive males immediately in their place if they wouldn't take no for an answer, as the vampire within him demanded no less and Emily would know this, as it was a trait with all males and their mates. Emily would expect for him to jump into any confrontation if they were together at the time and would just accept that it was the way it was, even though Hotch well knew that his mate was able to defend herself quite well. However, it just seemed to be an inbuilt trait in the vampire species that caused a male to want to defend what they considered their property as this trait only emerged if that person, vampire or not happened to be their mate.

His, Emily had long dark brown hair, extremely thick and long as it reached halfway down her back, but then had stopped once it had reached a certain point. Actually it was possible that considering Emily was half magical that her hair grew if more slowly then for a human. Most vampires that were born their hair grew to a certain point and then stopped and it never needed to be trimmed, unless of course, the vampire in question wanted to. If any vampire did so though it would never grow back, so most just left their hair alone. His mate also had the most beautiful dark brown eyes that were nearly the same shade as her hair. She was also slim, although not enough to be considered lithe and her height was only 4 inches shorter than his own 6'2', which meant she fit almost directly under his chin. In other words they fit perfectly together.

Emily purred and withered beneath her mate, as he worshipped her gorgeous body, moving from nibbling on her nipple to sticking his tongue in her belly button to licking and nipping his way gently up her gorgeous creamy thighs. It didn't take long at all for Emily's climax to build or for her pussy to be so wet that she was more than ready for her mate to enter her body for the first time.

It also didn't take long for Emily to start begging and normally that went against her nature, but with Aaron she knew that he would never use her vulnerability against her.

Hotch for his part looked down on his mate as he wanted to see how Emily responded to the attention he was lavishing on her and his inner vampire was extremely pleased at the way his mate's manicured nails dug into his back or the way her other hand gripped his short dark hair. His mate wasn't going to lay there like a doll while he lavished her beautiful body with attention it seemed and that knowledge pleased him no end as he always wanted whoever he was having sex with to participate and not lay there like a corpse. Of course, in the past he had relationships some that had lasted years before they broke up, but he never would have gotten involved with anyone if they didn't participate in the sexual act and just lay there unmoving. Of course, he was well aware that some vampires only cared about relieving their sexual tension and not about the person that they were having sex with. But even as a young lad when he had been about two, although he looked much older and his intellect had been even farther ahead, he had never been like that. Probably because he had seen the coldness between his parents and he knew that if he ever found his mate he had to be someone that she or even he would want to be with.

Once he was out on his own, although they really hadn't been any higher learning establishments so far back, he had traveled the world extensively before he had gotten his first job once he had gotten bored doing that, which hadn't happened for over 100 years. He had spent over a century finding out about the world around him and he had also invested what money he had earned until he had more than he would ever need, even with rising inflation and he was sure that Emily had done the same.

Neither one of them would ever have to work a day in their lives even if they had 500 children, not even with rising prices due to inflation. Hotch well knew that it was unlikely that they would have that many children, even in 1000 years, because even though a vampire pregnancy only lasted two months before the child or children were born he couldn't see Emily agreeing to have that many even if they were years or decades apart.

"You are mine now, for eternity," Hotch growled possessively in his mate's ear, even as he kissed side of her neck lovingly.

Emily didn't respond verbally, but did tilt her head to one side to give her mate better access to her neck an action that pleased Hotch's inner vampire because in her own way, Emily was saying that she agreed.

Finally, sometime later, Hotch entered his mate for the first time and his cock, which he had been holding back from exploding through sheer force of will, because he wanted to be in the body of his mate before he allowed himself to come, released his semen for the first time. It was a rather close run thing as he had barely pushed his cock into his mate's body all the way to the hilt when it exploded, almost on it's own accord, as it knew damn well where it belonged.

Emily for her part simply went limp as her climax washed over her, as it was strong enough to shatter every single thing in the room if it had actually been a physical force. She had never had such an ultrastrong climax in all of her life and she'd had a lot of sex over the centuries.

Emily knew in her mind that felt as if it was encased in fog that a large part of the reason for that was that they were mates and this wasn't just a good hard fuck to relieve sexual tension. Sure, she and Aaron were feeling sexual tension, before they had really started going at it, but there was no way in hell that this was just a one time thing as they would be together for the rest of their centuries on this earth. They'd no doubt be making love every spare minute they could for at least the next 50 or 60 years, before things calmed down a little between them and they actually did other things together. Oh, even after things calmed down a little they would still be making love a lot just not every spare minute.

"Well, we nearly destroyed the bed, not to mention the wall," Hotch said amused rather then annoyed, as he looked at the destruction.

"We can fix that without calling anybody to repair it," Emily said, as she looked at the damage. The wooden headboard of the bed had totally shattered and was laying in several pieces on the floor and that meant that the mattress was now tilted at an angle as the legs that had supported the headboard also lay in pieces. The sides of the bed were still attached to the footboard, although they too were at an angle and it wouldn't take much for the footboard to also collapse and therefore, put the mattress and box springs totally on the floor.

As for the wall, it was going to take a lot of plaster in order to fix it, as there were several fist sized holes where plaster had obviously broken off from the way the shattered headboard had kept ramming against the back wall.

"It won't take us long, although we're going to have to get a new bed as it is no way to fix it, but the wall we definitely can."

"Why do I have a feeling that we're going to be destroying a lot of beds in the future?" Emily snarked the humor clear in her tone.

"Because, you're extremely intelligent and observant?" Hotch suggested, even as he took his totally naked mate in his arms and held her close, enjoying the skin to skin contact. "I'm sure this happens to all mated couples, although it's not something you hear about, because most couples who are mates don't like to brag about what they do when they're alone. Some do as we both know, but most prefer to keep what they do in the comfort of their own home private."

"We also must consider the fact that a vampire finding their mate is pretty rare as I would say no more than 25 to 30% ever do."

"I'm sure Reid could give us the exact statistics," Hotch joked.

"Probably," Emily agreed, with a giggle, leaning up to kiss Aaron on the lips. "So what are we going to do considering that I know we're not even halfway done, even if our healthy libidos have calmed down for the moment."

"Yes, that was some lovemaking session," Hotch agreed, even as he kissed the side of his mate's neck where he had used his fangs to leave Emily with a mark. Leaving your mate with a mark that showed every vampire that they were taken was instinct and it didn't apply unless you had actually found the one you were meant to be with. Vampires got married sure, believing they were in love and it might even be true, but it would never be the deep, abiding love of those that had a mate bond. Having a mate bond was just nature's way of saying that you had found the perfect match for you in every way and that you would never fall out of love like so many people did, whether mortals or vampires. "And you're right we're not even halfway done as we're just getting started," Hotch promised his mate his voice a soft, sexy growl.

"You won't get any objection from me," Emily promised him sexily, even as she kissed the side of Hotch's neck where his own new mating mark was located just like the one he had done for her. She used her tongue coated with venom to seal the mark on the side of his neck and although it stung like the dickens it did the job. The mark would've healed up on its own the next time they fed, but this was faster. "I might be yours now, but you are also mine, so the ownership of each other is mutual."

"Yes, it is," Hotch murmured, as he started kissing his mate all over her face and her neck.

"You better stop that at least until we solve this situation," Emily said gesturing at the mostly destroyed bed.

"I'll order a new bedframe off later, since our mattress and box springs is reusable as they weren't destroyed," Hotch promised, "but for now, we'll just take it to another bedroom, as every single room in this house and there are over 100, has a bed in it, unless of course, it's a bathroom."

"Why do you own you such a big place anyway?" Emily asked. "I mean, I know you probably have a lot of money, but why not just buy a condo with one or two bedrooms as I would think that would be more cost-effective."

"Well, for one thing I've owned this for about 300 years and it's never changed ownership, because I never decided to sell it," Hotch explained. "I'm sure you realize that I own houses all over the world, but also things like apartment buildings that bring in money from the tenants. When I moved into the area over 20 years ago now I just thought it was too much trouble to find myself a condo or something smaller when this one was already paid for, even if you're right and it's really too large for just one person. However, I'm hardly ever here, since I joined the BAU just for really short stretches of time, so I just never bothered to sell it or have it torn down to just sell the land. I could and I might do that sometime in the future, but right now it's home, even if you and I only use a very small portion of it."

Emily thought about it and thought it made complete sense that this was something her mate had bought centuries ago and just had never bothered to get rid of it. It was a good base of operations.

"Oh, I had the wiring updated and replaced the oil lamps with modern electricity about 50 years ago," Hotch added, as if in afterthought. "I didn't bother to modernize the kitchen, since we'll never use it, well, unless, we have the team over for dinner which isn't too likely since we don't eat."

"We can just meet them in some restaurant if we really want to go that route, as that's far simpler not to mention cheaper," Emily said.

"Price doesn't really matter, because just with the money I've invested we have more than we will ever need and I'm sure you've done the same," Hotch shrugged.

"Yes, I have and I have more than I'll ever need to and if you combine how much the two of us have together I very seriously doubt that we'll ever have to worry about money, even if both of us didn't work," Emily agreed.

"So let's not worry about the price of things as we have money to buy whatever we want, as the younger generation likes to say," Hotch said. "Let's just buy what we please no matter what it is and not worry about the price. There's nothing wrong with hunting for bargains, but if you really want something go ahead and buy it and don't not do it, just because it's ultraexpensive. Unlike a lot of people we don't have to watch our pennies so we might as well enjoy having so much money, even if we don't brag about it. Mostly I'm a simple man with simple tastes and since I'm hardly ever here I haven't really done much at all, except put in a large screen TV and satellite and had the house repainted on the inside and outside a few years back. I do have a company that comes and trims the yard to keep it looking neat biweekly while I'm gone and I have a maid service that comes in once a week to dust and vacuum. I believe the reason is that me and my siblings, well, the ones that were born before I left home grew up in luxury and were so poorly treated that that's when I developed a taste for the simple things in life."

"Yes, that makes complete sense," Emily mused. "People who grow up in luxury, but who are not loved, often want the exact opposite of what they grew up with."

"It doesn't mean I don't splurge occasionally for something I really want," Hotch said, "but I'm not one of those vampires that necessarily have to have the finer things in life. Most of the houses I own are rented out by families and bring in a lot of money, not that that matters to me, but it is a point of consideration. I own apartment buildings all over the United States for example, but unlike a lot of owners I make sure to actually maintain them and get the wiring and so forth updated when it's needed. I am not going to make money off peoples misery or have poorly maintained residences in bad parts of town that I can charge a exorbitant amount for living there. There's enough poor misery ridden people in the world without me adding to it. Besides, partly due to my upbringing I've always believed in helping others, even if they never know it. I'm not going put the prices up on the apartment buildings I own just because of inflation."

"You must occasionally lose money then," Emily suggested.

"I can afford it," Hotch said with a shrug, "and really I'm not losing money at least not right now, but I'm not really making any at the moment at least not on that particular investment, but then I make plenty for my needs with my current job, so it doesn't really matter."

"I bet you the team would be surprised to see this soft side of you," Emily suggested with a smile kissing Hotch on the cheek.

"Yes, they would, but they really don't know much about my past, except what I've chosen to reveal over the years and I never talk about my investments, as that's no one's business, well, at least it didn't use to be until I met you that is. You have a right to know about everything, and I know we will be learning things about each other for quite a long time to come," Hotch said.

"We will," Emily agreed. "I have quite a few investments of my own and like you I would never need to work if I wouldn't be bored to tears if our kind could actually cry that is."

"Same here," Hotch agreed. "Since the world knows about our kind there's no reason that we can't hold down jobs until we get tired of them and move on."

"We're wasting time here, so why don't you show me one of those guest bedrooms you were telling me about, so we can get back to what we were doing?" Emily suggested. "We can fix the wall and get rid of the wrecked bed later."

"It will be a pleasure," Hotch said, even as he rose to his feet and swept his very gorgeous and naked mate up against his chest.

"I can walk you know," Emily laughed, even as she snuggled against his chest with her head buried in her mate's shoulder.

"I know," Hotch smirked, "but I enjoy carrying you as I won't get to do this often enough since we are gone so much of the time, so you might as well let me enjoy it."

"I don't mind, although it was anybody else I would certainly object, since I'm not going to be seen as some kind of damsel in distress that needs a man in her life," Emily admitted.

"Good, let's go to one of those guest bedrooms I mentioned and get back to what we were doing. We'll likely have to change the sheets before we get back to it though, because I'm sure they're dusty, but that won't take long," Hotch said.

"A little dust doesn't matter as it's not like we can get sick or even sneeze," Emily said, even as her lips consumed her mate's mouth.

Hotch reveled in the kiss and his tongue automatically pushed past Emily's lips only to meet her tongue, which battled his for dominance.

"Bedroom now," Hotch growled, as soon as their lips had parted.

Emily laughed, as her mate ran at vampire speed, with her in his arms and it was only seconds later that they were standing in a good sized bedroom that had a bed up against the wall just like in the master. The only difference really was that this bedroom was a little smaller, it was decorated in different colors and there was no bathroom attached,

"Yeah, I was right the sheets on the bed are really dusty and dirty as none of the guestrooms are ever used," Hotch said.

"Easily fixed," Emily laughed waving a hand at the bed muttering something under her breath so lowly that even Hotch didn't catch what she said, but the bedspread immediately became sparkling clean with no dust or dirt.

"Neat trick," Hotch chuckled appreciatively, as he watched the bedspread fold down neatly the sheets following.

"Thank you," Emily said looking just a little embarrassed, "I told you I had picked up a few tricks over the years when it came to my magics, since my mother refused to hire a tutor when I was a child."

"Garcia could teach you some things to as she's also a witch and I'm sure she wouldn't mind if you just asked as she's a very helpful person," Hotch suggested.

"Is she now?" Emily asked surprised.

"She is, and as I said she'll be glad to help you learn some more magic," Hotch said.

"I'll talk to her first chance I get," Emily promised, "but for now we have better things to do, don't you agree?"

"Definitely," Hotch said, as he placed his mate only now clean bed and pounced on her.

~~~Unexpected Bonds~~~

"Have a good weekend you two?" Morgan immediately asked with a smirk as Hotch and Emily walked into the BAU bullpen together first thing Monday morning, looking totally relaxed and happy with springs in their steps.

Morgan immediately noticed that both of them looked much more relaxed then they had been when they had been working that case in San Francisco a few days ago and Morgan bet that they'd probably spent the following Friday, Saturday and Sunday night making love or if he wanted to be crude fucking each other senseless. Vampires didn't need to sleep so that was likely all they had been doing for more than two days.

Morgan now suspected that the energy that had seemed to flow between them had been sexual in nature and the reason the two if them were so relaxed now was they had likely spent the entire weekend confirming the bond that they shared.

If he ever found his mate that was what he was intending to do, so he could certainly understand Emily and Hotch spending the weekend in bed.

"You already know the answer to that so I don't know why you bother to ask," Hotch said with a roll of his eyes at his teammate.

"He just wants to get a rise out of us," Emily mentioned and Hotch nodded having known this.

"I know, but it's not going to work, so why bother to try?" asked Hotch

"Because Morgan, will be Morgan," JJ said coming out of the office and into the bullpen to give Emily a hug which she accepted with pleasure.

"Hey, I am right here you know," Morgan mock complained, although the smirk on his face spoiled it.

"If you can't take it, you shouldn't dish it out," Emily told Morgan with a smirk of her own.

JJ giggled at that, more because of the look on her teammate's face then Emily's words.

"I'll see you at lunch," Hotch said, as he kissed his mate on the cheek.

"Does that mean you'll actually be joining us?" JJ asked immediately. "I know you and Emily don't eat actual food, but you could drink some blood and come just to be companionable."

"Yes, that's exactly what Emily and I plan on doing," Hotch told JJ and Morgan. "I know I've been a bit antisocial when it comes to our off times, not willing to go out with you and the others, join in the conversation even if I can't eat, but now that Emily and I are together that's going to change. I've been meaning to change my normal routine for years, but I didn't see any point to it until Emily and I met."

"You got stuck in a rut," Reid suggested as he came from the direction of Garcia's office.

"That happens quite often with our species actually. It normally takes something major for a vampire to realize that they really need to change their routine," Emily said. "We're almost immortal after all, as it takes quite a lot to actually kill one of our kind and the older you get the harder it is to keep your life exciting and new, especially when you can't sleep. Sooner or later things just get to be routine and that gets rather tedious and stagnant after awhile, which means that our kind get bored a lot until something comes along that interest them."

"Tedium is our kinds enemy," Hotch added. "Sure a lot of our kind goes to college every few decades, in order to learn something new, but even that can get tedious and boring after awhile. All of you guys are mortal and you have a certain span of years before you'll pass away, which is only the natural order of things, so you don't realize how hard it is for someone who is nearly immortal just as Emily said. Of course, now that Emily and I have found each other I suspect that we won't be bored for quite awhile if ever, but a vampire finding their mate rarely ever happens. I only know of a dozen other vampires who have found their mates. Though on the other side of the coin I don't know every single vampire in the world and these are just the ones that I ran into in my travels, long before I joined the BAU or even before it was formed."

"So you're saying that boredom is your biggest enemy," Morgan said.

"That makes sense if you ask me," JJ said. "I mean vampires are nearly indestructible, and therefore, they very rarely die, which means that their biggest enemy is all the hours in a day, especially nighttime when most people sleep. Vampires can't sleep and therefore, they have to find a way to keep themselves busy and that would be harder I would imagine the older they get."

"Which is one of the reasons I work for a living as it helps prevent boredom, except at night," Hotch said.

"Well, you're certainly good at it," Morgan commented.

"I learned from the best," Hotch said with a modest shrug. "David Rossi is the one that originally figured out a way to profile serial killers and other criminals, when everybody else said it couldn't be done. He was my mentor, but also a good friend and we keep in contact."

"Why did he decide to retire?" JJ asked.

"He just needed to do something different," Hotch said with a shrug. "A vampire can only do something for so many years before it's time for a change. Who knows he might decide to come back one day, but right now he's perfectly happy writing his books."

"There'll come a time when Aaron and I will want to retire and do something new, but that likely won't be for many years," Emily added.

"Yes, occasionally you need a change," Reid commented having been mostly silent, although he had been listening to what was being said. "Even humans and shifters can be bored, but it doesn't usually last for very long before they find something to do, but vampires are different."

"Definitely," Emily wholeheartedly agreed with that.

~~~Unexpected Bonds~~~


	5. Chapter 5

Part 5

"You're pregnant?" Hotch asked in astonishment. "You're sure?"

The two of them had only been together for over a week and if his mate was truly pregnant then it had to have happened sometime in the three days that they had made love, only stopping long enough to drink some of that artificial blood to sate their thirst. They'd fucked like rabbits for three days or nearly anyway before they'd had to go back to work on Monday where they had immediately caught another case this time in Wyoming and they had just gotten back.

"Oh, yes, I'm sure," Emily promised him. "I know the signs considering I've had 30 children over the centuries and I usually start showing after about a week and we just passed that milestone yesterday. I know you must have figured out by now that I must have caught that Friday or Saturday, when we first started making love and finally completed the bond that was between us. I won't be surprised in the least if I caught the first time."

"But it usually takes decades before a vampire couple has a child," Hotch pointed out logically.

"Usually that's true, but you have to take into the account that I'm a hybrid and not a full vampire and sometimes we just get pregnant more easily and I should've thought about that when we first started making love just last weekend. Remember back when I mentioned that I'd had 30 children and how I got pregnant due to few one night stands when the man in question didn't use a condom, that ought to have told you that I get pregnant easily sometimes."

"I didn't think about that, but you're right," Hotch agreed after a moment of thought.

"I know that neither one of us wanted to bring a child into this world at least not until we'd been together for awhile, but really there's no way to get rid of the vampire baby like there is for mortals, not after the first week anyway. Even in the womb vampire babies tend to be incredibly tough, so we're just going to have to deal with it. Really the only way to get rid of one is to wait until they are born and then burn them to ashes," Emily said

"I would never consider killing one of our children," Hotch told his mate sternly. "It doesn't matter that it happened sooner than expected, I will still love any child we have and spoil them rotten."

"Good, I was afraid you'd be upset," Emily said, "and believe me, I feel the same way you do. To me it doesn't really matter that I'm pregnant so soon into our relationship just that this baby is part of you as well as me and I would never even consider getting rid of him or her."

"No, I could never be upset that you're pregnant, as I've always wanted children of my own, but with my mate and not with just a one night stand or even a girlfriend. You're going to have to stay out of the field at least the last week of your pregnancy and it should really be the last couple of weeks," Hotch said. "In the short time I've known you I know that's not going to sit well with you. I know that it's nearly impossible to kill a vampire baby, but I fear you might go into labor out in the field."

"You're right I don't like it," Emily admitted immediately. "However, I won't argue with you if you want me to stay out of field as it's only for a week after all."

"So is there anyway to tell if you're carrying a singleton or twins, even though I know it's not exactly common?" asked Hotch.

"Well, a vampire doctor can't do it the normal way, because this baby isn't going to have any heartbeat since they are vampires after all. The only way that I know of that we can tell for sure is how much my stomach grows in the next month or so. I've had both singletons and twins and I remember the size I was for both and that should be an almost sure fire way to be able to tell."

"Well, as much as we made love that first weekend I wouldn't be surprised if it is twins," Hotch smirked.

"You do realize what the doctor is likely going to have to do to me if it does happen to be twins," Emily mentioned.

"What do you mean?" Hotch asked cautiously.

"Just that the vampire doctor is going to have to use tools made out of a vampire's fingernails or toenails and cut into my stomach, because it is unlikely that both twins will be facing the proper direction."

"This has happened before?" asked Hotch and Emily nodded.

"My first set of twins was both girls, which is apparently the most common kind and only one of them was facing in the proper direction in order to be born, which is also quite common. The doctor I was seeing had to do a vampire c-section and use a surgical scalpel made for vampires only, as they are the only substance known that will cut into our skin, well besides our fangs. The good thing about it is that it's only a small incision and just give me some blood and I'll be up right away and back on my feet within an hour or two, with just a slight scar. Since I know how overprotective mates are of each other I just wanted to warn you in advance that this was a possibility."

"Thank you for the warning, but there's no need to panic until we know one way or the other. We need to find you a vampire doctor, one that is practicing obstetrics as soon as possible," Hotch said calmly.

"Yeah, we do, because I don't know any doctors in this area, since the last time I was pregnant was like a 100 years ago," Emily agreed. "We really need to find one fast because I'll only be pregnant for two months before this child or children are born."

"After you give birth, maybe you should have your womb immediately removed so that you can't have anymore until it grows back," Hotch suggested.

"Well, if it's a singleton I'd like to get pregnant again right away and give our son or daughter a playmate, since I know very well how lonely it can be growing up as an only child, but after that yeah, we can have my womb removed."

"As fast as you got pregnant this time you could probably get pregnant again just as fast next time," Hotch said thinking about it, "that way our children won't be more then a couple of months apart."

"And I won't even have to take any maternity leave, since I'll heal up right away, just so long as we can find some nanny to look after them while we both work," Emily told her mate with a smirk.

"So you're not going to take the professional mother route," Hotch teased her already knowing the answer.

"Not in this lifetime or any other," Emily denied vehemently. "I'd be bored out of my mind, even if I know vampire children grow up incredibly fast and it would be less than a decade before they'd be out on their own. I'll love whatever children we have and I'll spend a ton of time with them when we are not gone for work, but me actually raising them from babies is out of the question. Besides, I've worked for years to get where I am in the FBI so taking seven or eight years off until our children our grown is a nonstarter."

"We'll find someone to look after them," Hotch promised knowing that Emily had a point and a very good one. "I'm sure there're plenty of nannies out there that are also vampires and so understand about raising vampire babies."

"Yeah, there are as I had one for every single one of my children and luckily, I had plenty of money to hire the best," Emily agreed.

"So how many sets twins have you had? Anymore after that set of twin girls you mentioned?"

"I've given birth to twins 6 times," Emily answered immediately, "but they were all decades apart."

"So not quite half of your pregnancies were twins," Hotch mused. "You must be way more fertile than the average vampire and it might have to do with the fact that you're partly a witch as well."

"We'll likely never know when I'm not going to worry about it," Emily said. "I know you can't really tell that I'm pregnant at this point, but I can feel a little life growing within me. In another week however, it will be an entirely different story, as I'll start to show then, and then the week after that I'll be showing much more. After the third week my stomach should start to grow at an exceptional rate and I'll need a great deal of blood, much more than I normally do."

"I'll make sure that we carry extra on the plane for you," Hotch said.

"I'll need at least triple the amount of what I normally drink and I'll be sipping it constantly after the third week as I want to keep this baby healthy," Emily warned him.

"So do I," Hotch agreed immediately.

"I remember being constantly hungry with my throat burning constantly, everytime I was pregnant with twins and in that case I'll probably need about four times what I normally drink."

"I'll make sure to keep you well supplied," Hotch promised. "I'll even spend my own money so that the FBI can't complain about the cost. Really all we have to do is go to some medical clinic and tell them that you're pregnant and that you need a great deal of blood in order for the baby is born healthy."

"Yes, that's what you have to do," Emily admitted, "and I'm grateful for those hospitals and clinics, as even the last time I got pregnant, well, they didn't have such clinics nor had they invented artificial blood. I believe that artificial flood was created about 15 or 20 years after my last pregnancy."

"So what did you do to feed yourself and your baby?" asked Hotch.

"Well, what all vampires have done throughout time and that was drain humans, although I needed much more blood when I was pregnant, particularly in the latter stages, than I normally did."

"That only makes sense really because your baby or babies need substance in order to grow, just like a human, magical or shifter baby needs to eat food and drink plenty of fluids in order to grow," Hotch said and Emily nodded.

"Every species has their quirks," Emily said. "I know that shifter females require a great deal more meat for example when they're pregnant then normally. They need vegetables and dairy products to of course, but they need a lot more meat than is normally recommended for a human or magical pregnancy."

"And what about hybrids, you know vampire shifter for example," asked Hotch.

"So far as I know the same, plenty of blood for the vampire/shifter fetus and if it's a shifter/human than plenty of meat with vegetables and dairy products," Emily said with a shrug. "As far as I know there are no special requirements for other hybrids, but I might very well be wrong about that and all I do know for sure is what I need."

"Well, at least we won't have to figure out a piece at a time what you need to keep the baby and yourself healthy," Hotch said grinning, because he was so happy about this pregnancy. "That was one problem we didn't need, but thanks to the fact that you've been pregnant before you know exactly what is required to keep yourself and the baby you are carrying healthy. I'll start asking around about doctors that specialize in vampire babies and hopefully, I'll have a few names in a couple of days."

"How do you think the team is going to react to finding out I'm pregnant?" asked Emily. "It wasn't intentional, but that doesn't mean I'm going to give any baby I'm having up and even if I could get an abortion I wouldn't."

"They'll be happy for us, although I'm sure Gideon will point out that it's much too soon and that we should've waited awhile," Hotch said. "However, he'll listen to all our explanation and when we tell them it wasn't intentional and we didn't expect you to get pregnant right away, which also happens to be true. After that Gideon will give in and be happy for us as well."

"Garcia will be over the moon as she really does seem to love children at least from what I know of her," Emily said.

"She will be and she does love children and I know she wants some of her own, but has never found the right person to settle down with," Hotch said. "Most men look past people like Penelope Garcia because she's not the skinny model type, but bustier and also because of her rather unique personality. It's not right, but most men prefer woman who are slimmer and it doesn't matter how shallow or self-absorbed they are."

"I know, believe me, I know," Emily said, making a face. "I've seen enough in my life to know that at least in this century men prefer women that are of average height and at least pretty, but also slim, preferably with big boobs. Garcia's shaped differently that's all and is by no means fat and yet most man won't even give her the time of day."

"I'm very happy about this child you are carrying, even if it's much sooner than either one of us expected," Hotch said, as he reached out and rubbed his mate's belly. Emily wasn't showing much yet, but when he touched her stomach he felt a slight bump one that hadn't been there previously as he should know.

"Do you want to go ahead and get married before this child is born?" asked Hotch.

"Why rush it along?" asked Emily logically. "I would like Garcia and JJ to help me plan the ceremony and there's no way we'll be able to plan one before I start showing or actually tie the knot, so we might as well take time and plan out every detail. I don't care if somebody makes a comment about us getting married so our child won't be illegitimate as vampires and shifters will know differently, as their eyesight is keener and they'll know what the marks on the side of our necks means. It's not really obvious that we are vampires despite the fact that we both move very fluidly, that we are cold to the touch and that we have pale skin, as all of these attributes can be explained without mentioning vampires. Thanks to that artificial blood that was invented about 100 years ago we don't even have the red eyes anymore to give what we are away."

"You're forgetting the fact that our child will be born much sooner then a human's or a shifter's one and that would be a big clue that we are not exactly human," Hotch said.

"I don't really care personally," Emily said with a shrug, "let people think what they like. You said the team will be happy for us and that's all that matters to me since I do have to work with them, us vampires tend to have different priorities then the rest of the species on this planet and so I stopped caring what other people thought of me centuries ago."

"Yeah, I don't really care either I was just making sure we were on the same page," Hotch agreed immediately taking his very sexy and gorgeous mate into his arms. "Vampires tend to have different priorities, which isn't surprising since we live almost forever, as you said and what other people think doesn't matter. I can't wait until you start showing," Hotch added rubbing a hand over his mate's naked stomach in circles.

"It won't be long," Emily said. "In another week I'll be showing majorly as my stomach will be poking out from where it normally is and the week after that I'll be several inches bigger."

The two of them fell silent as they lay curled together on the couch and Emily felt very strong emotions of love and tenderness as Hotch kept rubbing her stomach gently not seeming to be able to stop himself. This gesture told Emily that her mate was genuinely looking forward to the birth of their child and made her want to kiss him breathless, if they actually needed to breathe that is. You could say the words and lie about it and you could even fool vampires if you were good enough, but the way the her mate kept rubbing her belly almost unconsciously told Emily that not only was Aaron happy about this upcoming child, but that he really was looking forward to his or hers birth and would spoil whatever a child they had rotten.

"You'll be a wonderful father," Emily told her mate sincerely.

"It's something I've wanted all my life," Hotch told his mate with such love in his beautiful brown eyes that Emily just had to kiss him. "I know I could have fathered several children over the centuries, like my parents did, but it just never seemed right. I didn't want to be cold towards any woman that I decided to have a child with and I wanted to feel genuine affection for them at least, even if that's a step or two away from real love."

"Considering what you've told me of your upbringing that is not in the least surprising," Emily said, even as she stroked her hand through his short dark hair tenderly.

"So do you think you're carrying twins?" Hotch asked.

"I wouldn't be in the least surprised considering I've carried twins six times before this and me and my chosen partners certainly didn't go at it all night or for several days afterwards like we did."

"So the children you had were they with vampire partners, humans or shifters or magicals?"

"All of the above," Emily admitted, "as I've never been one to just stay within one species when it comes to the sexual act. I know what you're going ask next and I'm going to answer that all my children, were with human or shifters of one type or another for the most part. I did get pregnant by a vampire three time and had two boys and a girl just two months later for each pregnancy, but mostly it wasn't my vampire partners that ended up getting me pregnant."

"That makes sense," Hotch said, as he cuddled his mate close to him. "I was surprised that I managed to get you pregnant so fast, but then you are partly magical as well, which means that half of you is basically human and that translates into being more fertile then full vampires."

"It may also have to do with the fact that we went at it like rabbits for 2 1/2 days only stopping long enough to stop the burning in our throats with that artificial blood that you keep a supply of," Emily suggested with a smirk.

"That could've had something to do with it is well," Hotch admitted with a smirk of his own.

"The fact that we're mates might also have been at least a contributing factor," Emily said.

"That's possible," Hotch said admitting that Emily had made a very good point. "I haven't really met very many truly mated couples over the centuries, just a dozen or so like I told the team. I've met a lot of vampires that often stay together for centuries and have had children, but are not really mates, like you and I are."

"I've met a few mated couples just like you have over the centuries, but again not more than maybe ten to a dozen, altogether," Emily agreed. "I'm sure there are more out there, but they're probably aren't more then maybe 100 mated vampire couples in the world maybe 200, but no more than that."

"That sounds about right," Hotch agreed. "We'll likely never know the real total, as vampires are just as widespread as humans are."

"So have any of your siblings found their mate or are you the first?" asked Emily.

"No, several of my siblings have been lucky in that respect," Hotch admitted. "Caleb found his mate several hundred years ago, the lucky sod."

"So how old is Caleb?" asked Emily.

"Let's see he's about 80 years younger than I am so that would be around 620. His mate was a female shifter, a wolf just like Reid is, that also had a mate bond with my brother and agreed immediately to be turned into a vampire so they would never be parted. They've been together for about 330 years now and it didn't take Alexis long to master controlling her bloodlust, so that she could be around people without draining them dry. Alexis is a very stubborn individual which only helped her case."

"Yes, the more stubborn you are controlling your inner vampire and therefore, your bloodlust the easier it is to learn the control necessary," Emily agreed. "Anymore of your siblings that have found their mates, you did say several."

"Tobias or Toby, whose only about 200 years old found his mate about 65 years ago. Her name is Claudia which is a variation of the male name Claude as I'm sure you know and she was a human. In other words, she couldn't feel the bond that Toby had with her, but since it was after artificial blood was invented Toby didn't look much like a vampire except the attributes we have already mentioned and he made her fall in love with him, since he's certainly charming enough to get the birds to fly into his hand, even if they can sense the danger. When she did find out what Toby was she agreed to be changed, although even if she hadn't, well, she still would've been changed against her will, as it means the death of the vampire that is rejected, although luckily, that didn't happen in this case."

"Yes, I certainly would've changed my mate against their will if they had happened to be human or a magical and couldn't feel the bond that I would have been able to," Emily agreed.

"Finally my sister Bethany, or Beth met her mate about 500 years ago and she was the first of us to do so. Bethany and I grew up together as she was the second born child of my parents so we're only about three years apart, which is pretty close for vampire children."

"So what's his name?" Emily asked and Hotch knew immediately what his mate was asking.

"I'm sure you'll laugh when I tell you as it straight out of Shakespeare, one of the more unusual names that he used," Hotch said with a distinct twinkle in his eyes.

"So out with it," Emily demanded impatiently

"It's Oberon," Hotch said and Emily stared at him in astonishment.

"You're serious?" Emily asked half believing that her mate was pulling a prank on her.

"I am," Hotch promised her and just like Aaron had expected Emily burst into laughter. "Told you it would make you laugh," Hotch said smugly.

"You were right," Emily said still chuckling. "I bet he was teased for that name, as we know how cruel kids can be."

"Probably," Hotch agreed. "In any case, from what I know apparently his parents were into Shakespeare and thought it would be a good name for their son."

"I'm surprised he didn't have it changed as soon as he was grown," Emily said still chuckling.

"To each their own," Hotch said with a shrug.

"You never did say whether he was a vampire or a human or a shifter," Emily questioned after she had finally finished chuckling.

"He was a shifter, a panther shifter to be precise and the same thing happened that happened to my brother Caleb."

"So I'm assuming that Oberon agreed to immediately be changed into a vampire," Emily said, "since he to would've had a bond with your sister."

"He did and in fact, he insisted on it without even having to be asked and Beth was certainly happy to do it," Hotch said.

"I can certainly understand that, as that way Oberon is not going to die when his life had run its course, which wouldn't be good, because that means your sister would find a way to meet her own death," Emily said. "So I am the only one that hasn't had to be changed into a vampire since I already am one."

"And I am also the fourth of my humongous family to find my mate and I only hope that my siblings find their own," Hotch said, "as a vampire's life can be very stale and boring without a life partner to share it with."

"I totally agree with that statement," Emily said, as she leaned down to kiss her mate on the lips, which Hotch accepted with pleasure.

~~~Unexpected Bonds~~~

"You're pregnant?" Gideon asked Hotch and Emily in astonishment.

"I am," Emily answered Gideon's shouted statement calmly.

Hotch for his part remained silent, as he sat with his arm around his mate's waist as the team flew to New York. He knew Emily could handle Gideon with no problem, but he would step in if necessary.

"But you and Hotch have only known each other a week," Gideon said.

"So? Why does that matter?" asked Emily staring at Gideon. "What part of Aaron's and my explanation did you not understand when we told you that we were mates or soulmates in human terms? The amount of time we've known each other is irrelevant."

"I think what Gideon means is that you're not even married yet," Spencer said calmly, even as he smiled at Hotch and Emily apparently happy with the news.

"That doesn't really matter to our kind," Hotch informed the team. "Are Emily and I planning on getting married at some point? Of course, we are, but our child being illegitimate isn't really major concern for either of us."

"But why start a family so soon, why not wait awhile?" asked JJ genuinely happy for them, but also curious.

"Aaron and I had no intention of starting a family this soon, but neither one of us thought about using protection because usually it takes a long time for a vampire to conceive. However, I am a hybrid, which basically means I'm half vampire and in this case half-magical, which is also basically a human just one with an extra ability. Neither Aaron or I took into account the fact that as a hybrid I might be more fertile then a full vampire. However, just because I got pregnant much sooner than Aaron and really expected to does not mean I plan on getting rid of the baby once it's born since an abortion is impossible after the first week for our kind," Emily explained calmly.

"Of course not," JJ immediately agreed with that. "Whether or not this baby was expected, does not mean that it is unwanted."

"Definitely not," Hotch agreed immediately. "I'm very happy with this pregnancy whether or not Emily and I expected it quite so soon."

"But this means that you'll have to take maternity leave and you've been working with a team such a short amount of time..." Gideon said.

"No, it doesn't," Spencer informed his mentor. You're forgetting that Emily is part vampire and therefore, once the baby is born in less than two months time she will heal incredibly fast, within a couple of hours actually at most and she'll be ready go back to work after that. All she and Hotch really need to do is hire someone to look after the baby, which I'm sure they're already looking into."

"You are, of course, correct, Reid," Hotch told his subordinate with a smile. "We're also looking for a doctor for Emily someone who births vampire babies regularly."

"How do you think I knew I was pregnant so soon?" Emily asked the team. "Vampire babies, hybrid or not grow incredibly fast in their mother's womb. In a few days I'll really start to show and shortly after that I will bloom with my pregnancy, which will then start advancing rapidly. In less than three weeks now I'll be huge and look as if I'm in my fifth or sixth month and at the end of second month I'll go into labor and it won't be long at all before the baby is born."

"I wish pregnancy and labor was that fast for a human," JJ said enviously, "as I was in labor for over twelve hours with Henry and Michael, my twin sons and the gestation time was just a little over eight months."

"Every species is different," Hotch shrugged, "and just in case you were wondering Gideon, Emily should be able to work up until the last minute, so long she doesn't go out in the field for the last week, as she doesn't need to be chasing after unsubs with her so pregnant, even if her speed is only diminished a little, because of the weight of the baby. We don't even have to worry about the baby coming early, as it's usually right on time or sometimes a few days late, but never early, so long as the couple knows exactly when the baby was conceived."

"Alright, I get the point," Gideon said throwing up his hands in defeat. "I understand that it was an accident and that she won't have to go on maternity leave like a human or a shifter would."

"No, I won't and that's one of the great things about vampire females and that's how rapidly they recover from giving birth," Emily said cheerfully now that she and Aaron had made their point to Gideon. "I don't envy those women who have to go on maternity leave for the last few weeks of their pregnancy or at least after the baby is born, as I'd go absolutely insane with the inactivity."

"So if you only have to be pregnant for two months does that mean that vampire children grow up really fast?" asked JJ.

"Yes, in just seven years," Hotch informed JJ with a smile. "Really they are already much more mature than most 30 years olds by the time they leave home. In those seven years they're taught how to control their bloodlust, so they don't kill a mortal on accident. Vampires have a much better sense of smell then even a shifter our kind can literally smell the blood that runs in any sentient species veins."

"And learning control isn't always easy, especially for the young," Emily added.

"What if they don't learn to control their bloodlust by the time they're grown?" Gideon asked.

"Then even if they're technically all grown up they're not allowed to go out in public by themselves until we are sure they have their bloodlust under control," Hotch answered succinctly. "Learning control is more important than any other skill that they will ever master and they're not allowed to be without adult supervision until they've mastered that particular skill, grown or not."

"Luckily, any children we have are going to be hybrids as well and it will be easier for them to master this skill then it would be for a full vampire, simply because a hybrid's sense of smell tends not to be as acute," Emily added.

"I know that Emily and I will likely not be there to teach our child the necessary skills that they will need, so we're going to hire someone that can as well as look after them when we're gone for work," Hotch said.

"I'm sure you have everything well in hand," JJ said.

"Oh, we will," Emily promised someone she was starting to see as a sister. "Vampires have been training their children for a long time now and those that don't obey the laws are soon taken out by the vampire community. We don't need the bad press, since our kind is feared enough as it is. Neither Aaron or I have any intention of that happening to any children we happen to have, so they will learn to obey not only the human laws, but the vampire ones as well."

"How do you physically stop a vampire from leaving if they want to?" asked Gideon curiously.

"There are ways," Hotch said refusing to go into detail.

If you truly wanted to stop a vampire from leaving, all you would need to do was remove both their legs, until they learned to obey orders and only then would they be reattached. Losing a limb though was incredibly painful, but sometimes necessary to prove a point.

Gideon and everybody else knew that neither Hotch or Emily was going to say how you controlled a vampire who really wanted to get out and start killing people and everybody had a feeling that they didn't really want to know anyway, so they dropped it.

"So is there anyway to tell if it's a girl or a boy?" JJ asked.

"No, as unfortunately, ultrasound machines don't work on our kind and it doesn't really matter anyway, as we'll know in less then two months," Emily answered. "I don't really care what the sex it is to tell you the truth as it doesn't matter to me or to Aaron either."

"So when are you planning on tying the knot?" JJ asked next.

"It'll be after the baby's born as there is no way we could plan a wedding before I start to show anyway," Emily said. "However, before the baby's born I want you and Garcia to start helping me plan a ceremony."

"I'd be happy to and I know Penny will be as well as she just loves to plan any type of occasion. She'll be ecstatic to help, because you're becoming a good friend to both of us," JJ agreed immediately.

"I never had any sisters and I'm beginning to think of both you and Garcia in that way," Emily said sincerely. "I would've been much happier as a child if I had a playmate, but unfortunately, it was just me and mom. We traveled a lot, thanks to my mother being an ambassador and that didn't exactly make it easy to make friends."

JJ and Emily continued to talk while the three male team members just sat and listened as their two female teammates chatted about weddings and babies cementing their friendship that would last the rest of JJ's lifespan.

~~~Unexpected Bonds~~~


	6. Chapter 6

Part 6

"You're pregnant?" Garcia squealed excitedly.

"I am," Emily admitted.

"Do you know if it's a girl or a boy?" asked Garcia.

Emily shook her head and then gave her new friend the same information that she had given everybody except Morgan who had been visiting his family in Chicago on the plane.

"So you'll only be pregnant another six weeks then, before the baby's born," Garcia summarized, "and that is no way to tell beforehand whether it's a girl or boy as ultrasound doesn't work on one who is a vampire."

"That's right, and that is really no way to tell if I'm carrying more than one either except by the size of my stomach. You can already start to tell that I'm pregnant and I have certainly been drinking a great deal of that artificial blood, much more than I normally do. By next week my stomach should have grown several inches and by week four I should be able to tell whether or not I'm carrying twins or not simply because of the size of my stomach.

"How would you be to tell...? Garcia began. "You've been pregnant before before you met Hotch."

"Quite a few times actually," Emily admitted. "Mostly by other sentient species other than vampires, but I've had full vampires get me pregnant a few times as well. However, most vampire females, well, they don't get pregnant easily and I think the only reason I do is because I'm also half magical in other words I'm a hybrid, not a full vampire and it is likely my human half that allows me to conceive so easily. Aaron and I certainly never intended to have any children this soon, but it happened that weekend when we made love and since we went at it like two rabbits, well, I won't be surprised at all if I'm carrying at least twins."

"Have you ever had twins before?" asked Garcia curiously not really surprised that Hotch and Emily had gone at it like two rabbits as mates were that way or at least that's what she had heard and vampires didn't even need to sleep like humans or shifters did. Mates constantly wanted each other all the time and so they spent a great deal of time in bed, especially for the first few years.

Garcia thought that she would love to have somebody who loved her that much, but here she was over 30 and it hadn't happened yet and she was beginning to lose hope that it ever would. She had been hurt quite a few times in the past by men who dumped her like a hot potato after just one or two dates

"A few times," Emily said, "so I know that because I have had twins before that it increases my chances of having them again and this is still true, even though I am a vampire."

"So what are you going to do to prevent yourself from getting pregnant again after this since you seem to be more fertile than the average vampire and the normal birth control don't work with your kind?" asked Garcia curiously.

Emily told her and Garcia gasped in shock. "You're going to have your uterus removed?"

"It's only temporary, as it will grow back in a few years," Emily admitted with a shrug. "It's never been discovered why a female vampires uterus does that, just that it does."

"So you're sure this is the only way to prevent yourself from getting pregnant again until you're ready?" asked Garcia.

"Yes, I'm afraid so, as the only other way to do it for sure is for Aaron and I to be totally abstinent, which isn't going to happen in this lifetime or any other for that matter as Aaron would never agree to that and neither will I as we have just found each other after all and forgoing having sex for years or even a few days isn't even an option."

"I don't blame you," Garcia agreed immediately. "I suppose if having your womb removed is the only option to make sure you don't get pregnant for awhile at least..."

"Don't worry so much, it will only take me an hour to recover so long as I get lots of blood," Emily told her friend. "The only other way to stop a vampire from conceiving since normal methods don't work is to permanently end the problem by Aaron having a vasectomy, which is irreversible or at least rarely reversible. We might decide that's the best option someday far in the future after we have as many children as we want, but definitely not at present."

"No, I would say that's definitely not an option," Garcia immediately agreed.

"Also I'll never be too old to have children safely, since despite being part of magical I don't age, so over the next few hundred years we could have anywhere from only 10 to 15 children or over a hundred. We'll just have to see how it goes. Also Aaron and I decided that if I am only carrying a singleton that I will get pregnant again right away and immediately give our child a playmate. I was an only child and I was often lonely and I definitely don't want that for any child of mine."

"Yes, I can definitely understand that as I have four brothers, all older," Garcia said. "I was the baby and they always treated me like a little princess."

"By the way, Aaron mentioned that you might be willing to teach me some of the magic you know as I'm afraid I've never had formal lessons. My mother refused to hire a tutor to teach me magic tricks, her words, even though she knows perfectly well that magic is real. I picked up quite a bit over the centuries as I traveled the world, but if you would be willing I'd like to learn more."

"Sure, I'd be glad to, we'll have to set up a time when both of us are free," Garcia said thrilled at Emily's request. "There are many different types of magic in the world and every country has its own spells and their own way to perform it."

"I do know that much," Emily said with a devilish smile. "I picked up quite a few things over the years, but still I was never formally trained and I'm sure there's a lot of magic I have no idea about."

"We'll get together sometime soon," Garcia promised. "After you give birth though."

"That's fine," Emily agreed. "It won't be long really as vampire pregnancies are much shorter than a shifters or a humans as I just explained."

"You are so lucky," Garcia said enviously. "If I ever find someone to settle down with I would love to only be pregnant for two months before I give birth."

"I have to admit it's rather convenient," Emily said her eyes twinkling mischievously. "The one thing I really appreciate is I won't have to go maternity leave like other people will, simply because I'll be healed all up in a matter of hours, so I'll be immediately able to return to work. I'm not one of those people that does very well playing the housewife and I'd go insane from boredom in a very short amount of time. If it took me as long to heal up as it did a human I guarantee you I wouldn't be getting pregnant very often. Some women might enjoy being housewives or soccer moms, but not me."

The two talked and chatted quietly for a few minutes before Emily headed back out to the bullpen to get started on that paperwork that had been sitting on her desk, although at least since she was a vampire she could speed read her way through it and remember every word before signing it, unlike JJ or Morgan or Gideon who had to read at normal speed. Reid was something else altogether, even though he was a shifter and not a vampire due to his genius and eidetic memory he could read quite fast as well and also remember every word, although not as fast as she and Aaron could, but still commendably fast compared to the average reading speed of a human or shifter adult as 20,000 wards a minute was nothing to sneeze at and was much faster than anybody else other than a vampire could read.

~~~Unexpected Bonds~~~

One week later

"Yeah, I'm definitely having twins," Emily told her mate as she stared at her enormous belly in the mirror. "I thought as much considering I'm drinking at least four times the amount of artificial blood that I normally do when I'm not pregnant. The last time I was pregnant that artificial blood hadn't been invented yet so maybe the fact that it's not the real deal has something to do with why I'm needing more sustenance, while I'm carrying our child or in this case children."

"It's as close to real as you could possibly get in a lab, love," Hotch replied, even as he unconsciously stroked his mate's enormous stomach tenderly.

Her mate did that every chance he got, Emily thought even as she enjoyed Aaron's gentle, tender touch. Emily knew that Aaron was eagerly waiting for their children to be born and it was looking like it was indeed twins, as she was much bigger than the last time she'd had only one. Come to think of it she was much bigger then all the times she'd had twins as well so was it possible she was carrying three instead of two? Triplets were extremely rare for vampires, much rarer then they were for mortals, so Emily decided immediately that she wasn't going to say anything as there was no way to know for sure. She was certainly much bigger than all six times she'd had twins as she remembered what she had looked like at every stage of every pregnancy due to her eidetic memory. A memory that all vampires had and some mortals to like Reid, although it was extremely rare in a mortal's case.

If she did have triplets, she knew that Aaron would be over the moon and that she would immediately have her womb scraped out after the birth of her children preferably right after her c-section, so she could get all over with in one go.

She had never had triplets before and there was no guarantee that was what she was carrying now, all Emily knew for sure was she was much bigger than every time she'd had twins and unless they were both extremely large babies, it had to be at least three instead of two. She was just going to have to wait and see, but it wouldn't surprise her in the least if what she suspected turned out be true.

"Yes, I would say so, as even I can tell you're too big just to be carrying one," Hotch said, as he looked into his mate's dark brown eyes that were like pools of liquid chocolate and kissed her tenderly on the lips.

"It won't be long now, just a month or so," Emily said.

"Which will pass fast," Hotch said.

"At least I don't have to worry about going on bed rest or my pelvis cracking due to the weight of the babies like it does to some mortal women who are carrying multiples. Of course, those women aren't vampires and it's mostly humans and magicals, because a shifter female pelvis is made to stand the strain of carrying so many children at one time. Having multiples is the norm for them and having only one is a rare event."

"Maybe not, but you still need to stay off your feet as much as possible, particularly during the last week," Hotch urged his mate. "You're not carrying just a single baby after all, as you are carrying at least twins and I wouldn't be surprised if it was more of the size of your stomach is any indication."

"I was thinking the same thing and I wasn't going to mention it, because there is no way to tell until they are actually born, but it wouldn't surprise me either," Emily said. "I'm also going to have that operation to have my uterus removed right after our children are born, so I don't have to go back a second time so soon, but I'll only do that if it's at least twins, but considering how big I am..."

"We'll just assume it's at least twins until proven otherwise," Hotch said and Emily nodded in agreement. "If it's more than that it's extremely rare for any vampire to have more than two and having twins for one of our kind isn't exactly very common either."

"I think I'll ask for a c-section instead of going to actual labor and then having one, since I know I'm carrying at least two and it's unlikely that both babies will be facing in the proper direction in order to be born naturally, not impossible, just unlikely."

"You know they're not going to be able be give you anything for the pain you're going to be experiencing during the labor and also the operation," Hotch said looking concerned, as he hated the thought of his mate being in any pain, even if in this case it was necessary.

"Don't worry, I'll get through it just like I always do," Emily promised her mate tenderly kissing him passionately. "Yes, the pain is usually pretty bad, but so long as I'm supplied with plenty of blood afterwards I'll be just fine. I've been through this 30 times before 6 of those with twins, where I had to go through a c-section everytime, while the others were all born naturally. Vampires have been using their own form of c-section for a lot longer than the humans have, simply because sometimes twins don't want to be born naturally and so something had to be done to make sure mother and children are born healthy and whole."

"I'll always worry about you as we are mates and they always worry about their other half," Hotch said, "I can't help myself."

"I worry about you too, although I'm well aware you can take care of yourself. I have to admit that this is a pretty unusual situation and you have every right to worry about me. It's actually quite refreshing to have somebody worried for your welfare, as my mother certainly was never concerned," Emily admitted.

"Let's not talk about that woman," Hotch growled suddenly looking furious. "If it wouldn't cause more trouble than it was worth I would hunt her down and rip her apart for the way she's treated her own daughter. Unfortunately, your mother is too high profile for me to do that to and not get caught or at least cause a big international scandal."

"Believe me, I've often felt the same way and I feel no loyalty to the woman who gave birth to me, because of the way I was treated as a child," Emily agreed. "I know I should love her, as she is my mother after all, but considering her neglect..."

"Let's change the subject before I pulverize something," Hotch suggested, as calmly as possible his anger so strong still running through him that he was having a hard time not destroying the bedroom in his rage.

"Alright," Emily agreed, as calmly as possible.

"However, let me be clear before we change the subject," Hotch began. "The next person who hurts you, whether that's just some stranger or if your mother pops up to hurt you emotionally again they will simply disappear, never to be seen or heard from again, is that clear? Right now I can't kill your mother as much as I would like to, because as has already been stated she's too high profile to simply disappear. However, one day she will decide to retire and when she has been forgotten about by the government I guarantee you I will have my revenge for the way she treated you. Yes, I believe in seeing justice done, but anybody who hurts you emotionally, since I know doing that physically is nearly impossible will immediately be placed at the top of my shit list."

"You don't have to worry about me, Aaron, I'm not some fainting damsel in distress," Emily told her lover. "I know right now that the bond between us is still so new that you're not thinking logically or clearly and believe me, I feel the same way about you, but you can't go getting rid of anybody that hurts my feelings, as we'd be leaving a trail of corpses behind us. I'm not saying that it won't be occasionally necessary to make someone disappear like say a stalker, since I know that we are naturally sexually attractive, even if it's not as strong as it used to be due to us no longer drinking human blood. I won't object if it does become necessary, but we will discuss it together without you going rampaging off with thoughts of revenge."

Hotch calmed down at his mate's sooting, calm voice and knew she was right. "Alright, you're right," Hotch agreed as the red mist cleared from his vision.

"Of course, I am," Emily teased her mate relieved that she had talked some sense into him, even though from what she knew he was usually very logical, calm and in control at all times. The bond that was between them was extremely strong and also still so very new that it had a lot to do with her mate's emotions being so out-of-kilter with what they normally were. Of course, the fact that she was also pregnant might have something to do with it as well as vampire males in particular tended to be very protective of their mates when they were.

"Well, we are practically indestructible under ordinary circumstances," Hotch admitted changing the subject back to what they had been talking about originally until Emily had made the mistake of mentioning her mother out loud. Mentioning her mother was not a mistake she would make again since it'd instantly made her mate furious. The change in subject released a great deal of the tension that had started to build. "In most cases, I don't worry about you, but I suspect I'll always worry about you when you are pregnant, especially the giving birth part and if it's more than one."

"You have every right to be," Emily repeated. "I won't be getting pregnant for awhile after this so you can stop worrying about me for awhile anyway."

"I'll try, but I suspect I'll always worry no matter the situation, even if it's only a little," said Hotch.

Emily knew that was the best she was going to get so she accepted it with good grace as their jobs could dangerous after all, even if it was extremely hard to kill a vampire.

The two of them continued to talk quietly, both of them anticipating the birth that was only a few short weeks away.

"So what sexes are you hoping for?" asked Emily finally. "I know I told JJ and the rest of the team that I didn't care one way or the other and that's still true, but I didn't think to ask what you thought."

"It doesn't really matter to me either, since we'll have plenty of other opportunities to have children through our centuries together, although I think at least one boy and one girl would be perfect," Hotch said. "Of course, if we get both boys or both girls that's okay to."

"One of each is the most common, while having two girls is the next most common type of twin," Emily informed her mate with a smile. "Two boys is still pretty common as well, but the percentages of having both boys is still much lower than the one the other two possibilities."

"You sounded like our own Dr. Reid there for a moment," Hotch teased his mate who laughed.

"I suppose I did, but you can't live as long as we have and not learn things, even if I'm not the font of information that Reid is," Emily said. "I'm sure I know as much trivia as he does considering that you tend to pick up things like that unconsciously, but I certainly can't bring it to the forefront of my mind as fast as he can."

"Neither can I. I'm sure I know just as much trivia, although probably not the more obscure stuff that Reid knows," Hotch said.

"Besides, we wouldn't want to take Reid's place on the team and make him feel bad, so it's just as well really," Emily said. Emily had grown quite fond of the youngest member of the team over the last few weeks and thought he would make a good little brother.

"Yes, I have to agree, as his confidence comes from the fact that he knows more than anybody else and can use that knowledge to help the team solve cases that would be much more difficult to catch our unsub without him. If we inadvertently tried to take that position from him that could shatter his confidence, something that neither one of us wants," Hotch agreed.

"Definitely not, as he is quickly becoming a little brother, just like JJ and Garcia are becoming sisters I never had," Emily said.

"You know they'll eventually die, right?" Hotch asked his mate cautiously.

"Believe me, I'm well aware, but that's not going to stop me from getting close to them, even if it's going to hurt me when they eventually do pass away. We can't stop ourselves from getting close to people or living our lives, just because they die in a few decades. Yes, I have you which I'm grateful for, but that does not mean that we can't have friends who are not vampires, even if we know they will eventually leave us. I will cherish the years I have with them and remember them always."

"You're right," Hotch immediately agreed. "I'm friends with the team as well and really we're as close as a family, which is what stopped me from going insane with loneliness, until you and I met. I was still lonely in those hours that I wasn't working, but since I worked so much of the time it wasn't as bad as it could have been."

"Well, now we have each other so I seriously doubt either one of us will ever be lonely again," Emily suggested

"Definitely not," Hotch agreed wholeheartedly.

~~~Unexpected Bonds~~~

Keziah Hotchner entered the government building where her brother worked and told the guard at the front desk her name who she was here to see.

She and Aaron had been talking on and off over email and the phone over the last several months moreso than usual because her brother was so excited that he had met his mate and that she was already carrying his children as both he and Emily believed that it was twins.

Keziah was well aware that her brother didn't get excited about much, as he was usually the calm and steady type, tending to internalize his emotions, but since she had heard so much about this Emily Prentiss, Keziah wanted to meet her as soon as possible.

As soon as she had arrived at the guard station the man behind it jaw had nearly dropped to the floor at this vision of loveliness that he saw before him. Keziah barely noticed as the guard stuttered asking her business, as this was a rather common occurrence with men the first time they saw her as she was heartstoppingly beautiful just as her brother was handsome. But where her brother often had an aura of tightly controlled menace about him, the same was not true of his sister. Oh, Keziah could be menacing when she wanted to be, but most of the time she preferred to be nice.

Keziah had long black hair, that went halfway down her back the same color as her brother's and also his dark brown eyes, her nose however, was much smaller then Aaron's was with a cute uptilt, her lips plumper, her cheekbones more refined and planed. Still, the resemblance to her older brother was very obvious if you knew where to look as the shape of the eyes as well as the color was the same as was the chin.

"You're really lucky miss, that Agent Hotchner is out of town," the guard said.

"Well, if he was I would just contact him and he would allow me to stay at his place until he returned to prevent me from having to rent a room in a hotel," Keziah answered honestly. "I didn't call him beforehand, because I wanted to surprise him, since I was in town anyway."

Keziah didn't mention the fact that she had really come to meet this Emily Prentiss that her brother raved about and so she had come to town specifically for the purpose. She had often wished that she had found her mate because just traveling the world and writing books wasn't enough to keep her busy and content. Oh, she was happy and content for short spaces of time, but for the most part she was lonely, just that she knew Aaron had been before he and Emily had met less than a month ago. It wasn't that she hadn't had lovers and she had even lived with a few of them for decades before the relationship had broken up and had a few children, well more than a few unless you counted 65 a few. That was an enormous amount, for a full vampire who was only 445 years old, but then unlike her parents who only had sex occasionally and didn't seem to need anymore she had always been a very sensual and sexual woman and she rarely remembered to remind whatever man she was having sex with to use a condom. Some of her lovers had lasted for decades and she had over a dozen children by them apiece, while the rest had been had in between any serious relationships.

"Here you go ma'am Agent Hotchner's office is right across the bullpen and up the stairs to the left," the guard told her as soon as the two of them had stepped off the elevator.

"Thank you," Keziah told the guard who was young and handsome with a dazzling smile, that left him standing there staring after her for some minutes after the Keziah had already disappeared.

~~~Unexpected Bonds~~~

Hotch looked up at the knock on his office door and stared in surprised as he saw his sister staring at him through the window that was part of the door.

"Come in," Hotch called and his sister Keziah immediately entered his office shutting the door gently behind her. "What are you doing in town?" Hotch asked as he rose from his desk and walked around it to give his sister a hug.

"Well, I wanted to meet your mate for one," Keziah offered honestly. "You know me I like to travel, and it's not like I had a job that meant I had to take time off from in order to come and see my oldest brother. I wasn't sure if you would be in town or not, but I figured I'd take my chances and that I would call you to see where you had hidden your extra key and stay at your place if you happened to be gone and save me the expense of a hotel room."

"Well, I'm glad to see you," Hotch said honestly, as he kissed his sister on the cheek and gave her another hug, "and you would have been welcome to stay at my place, which is huge as it was bought centuries ago and I just never bothered to get rid of it."

"How big are we talking about?" Keziah asked curiously.

"Well, over 100 bedrooms," Hotch told her and Keziah whistled appreciatively.

"That's huge and much bigger than most families have in the 21st century," Keziah said.

"Well, as I said it was bought centuries ago and I just never bothered to sell the house itself or have it torn down and sell the land to a developer. It was a place for me to go when I wasn't working at the BAU, so I didn't see any point of looking for an apartment or more likely a condo, as I like my space. Now that Emily and I have children on the way as we're nearly positive it's at least twins, the time might be now to look for a smaller place. Maybe a house that has five or six bedrooms, instead of that huge mansion we live in now. In any case, it's something that Emily and I will have to discuss together if we aren't on our way to some distant city to help them out with their criminal problem."

"So are you happy?" asked Keziah.

"Happier than I've been in a very long time," Hotch promised his sister with a genuine smile instead of his usual smirk, his brown eyes actually sparkling. "Emily completes me in every way and although neither one of us expected to be having children this soon I'm not unhappy or disappointed that she's pregnant."

"So where is she anyway? Or the rest of this team you've told me so much about?" asked Kezia.

"They went to lunch and I decided to stay here and get some of this paperwork out of the way while I could, since I don't actually have to eat real food. Yes, Emily could've stayed here as well, but I convinced her to go along with the others for the companionship if nothing else, since I would be busy filling out all these forms. I'm sure you know that the government runs on paperwork and although I can get it done faster due to vampire speed I still have to be extremely careful to not tear a hole through the papers due to going to fast or pushing the pen into the page to hard. The team should be back from lunch shortly and since they rarely get a chance to eat lunch, except while we are working or here in the office while discussing a case, I urged them to take their time and not rush back. We very rarely get to stay in the office where we're not headed off to some distant city to help them out with their problem and so, even though this was just a paperwork day these quiet times are treasured by the team even if doing paperwork isn't exactly very exciting."

Brother and sister continued to talk quietly, catching up with each other until they both heard the elevator ding and people emerge from it.

"The team is back," Hotch said checking his watch seeing that it had been just over an hour. "Why don't I go introduce you to them and you can be everyone I've been telling you about and Emily as well."

"Sounds good that's what I came for," Keziah told her brother with a teasing smile.

"You didn't come to see your older brother I'm so disappointed," Hotch teased right back.

"And why would I come and see the bane on my life?" Keziah teased.

"Because you love me?" Hotch suggested with a knowing smirk.

"I do, although sometimes I have no idea why," Keziah agreed with a smirk of her own.

"Come on fess up we rarely see each other you know," Hotch said trying to sound stern and failing miserably.

"That's only because you're always so busy," Keziah told him.

"I stay busy on purpose," Hotch said and Keziah nodded in understanding perfectly what her brother meant. "Let us go, so I can introduce you to the rest of the team as I don't want Emily to see me in here with some strange female, even if you're my sister she doesn't know that. I don't want to give her a minute of doubt that I would ever cheat on her."

"She does know that once you found each other you'll never be sexually attracted to anyone else, right?" Keziah asked.

"She does, but you have to remember she's pregnant right now and her emotions aren't exactly normal at the moment and little things can set her off. Sure, she knows intellectually that I would never cheat on her and in fact I'm incapable of doing so, but her emotions are even stronger than normal due to her being heavily pregnant. I don't want to upset her considering she's due in just two weeks."

"Alright, I can understand that," Keziah agreed heading for her brother's office door Hotch following.

The two of them exited his office together and the team immediately turned towards the sound of a door opening.

"Everyone I would like you to meet my sister Keziah who dropped by unexpectedly," Hotch announced.

Reid stared in wonder at the beautiful woman who looked around 30 the same age that Hotch looked, even if intellectually he knew that both Hotchners were centuries older than they actually appeared.

Reid nose quivered as he took in Keziah's scent as the wolf in him instantly recognized that Hotch's sister was his mate, someone he had never expected find. He had figured that if he ever found them, they would be another shifter or perhaps, a human, not a vampire and especially not one related to his boss. Really, there wasn't much age difference between them, well not physically anyway, although chronologically there definitely was, but Reid also knew that didn't matter. Since Keziah was his mate, then that was the end of the line as like a vampire, a shifter only had one mate and he'd be miserable without her and so would she.

His inner wolf was already urging him to at least go introduce himself and Reid knew that the second that Hotch's sister set eyes on him and smelled his scent she should also know that the two of them were meant to be. Some part of Reid however, feared that this would not happen and that this gorgeous woman that was related to his boss wouldn't give him Dr. Spencer Reid the time of day. There was also the added complication of the fact that Aaron Hotchner was her older brother and there was no way that he wanted Hotch mad at him, as his boss could literally rip him to pieces if he upset his sister, so he was going to have to handle this very delicately.

Keziah for her part had set eyes on this young man who didn't look older then 27 or 28 at most while he was lost in his own thoughts and knew immediately that this man that she had yet to be introduced to was her mate, someone she had never expected to find. Or if she had she had expected that it would be another vampire or perhaps, a human, but not a shifter. The oddities that life tended to throw at you when you least expected it nearly took Keziah's breath away. Well, it would have if she actually had to breathe and it wasn't that she wasn't happy about this, just that it shocked her to her core, partly because her older brother had just met his mate six weeks ago. For her to find hers so soon after her brother had was absolutely flabbergasting as only three of her siblings if you discounted Aaron had found their mates to date and they had been decades, even centuries apart. For her to find her mate in this relatively young man, less than two months after her older brother had found his was probably unprecedented or at least she had never heard of it happening before.

"Keziah, this is Derek Morgan, Penelope Garcia whose our technical analyst, Jason Gideon who's the other leader of the team, my mate Emily Prentiss and finally Dr. Spencer Reid who's our expert on everything," Hotch introduced.

Despite the fact that both Keziah and Reid had tried to be subtle about it Hotch had not failed to notice how they kept flickering glances at each other as if unable to stop. Hotch knew the signs considering he and Emily had only met six weeks ago and mated a few days after that and while he was inwardly astonished that his sister and his teammate were mates, he was not displeased with that prospect at all. He would stay out of it he decided unless of course, Reid got stubborn and tried to reject his sister and only then would he interfere. Hotch knew how shy Reid was when it came to all the women that tended to flock around him and Morgan when they were in bars or really any other public place. In his case, it was his natural allure, even if it wasn't as powerful due to the fact that he no longer drank human blood and also the fact that he looked like a god with no blemishes whatsoever. In other words he was the epitome of handsomeness and a lot of women tended to go for that kind of thing. Hotch admitted that his unearthly beauty was somewhat out of the ordinary, but then again all vampires looked as if they had stepped off the pages of some fashion mag to different degrees of course.

Hotch immediately noticed how Reid blushed, although he shook Keziah's hand politely his eyes never leaving her face. Hotch was sure that Reid's eyes wanted to wander downwards to her cleavage, but considering that he was standing right at her side he thought it was a very good decision on his teammate's part to make sure his eyes remained firmly in one spot, even if he wouldn't have objected considering what he knew, but still Reid didn't know that.

"It's a pleasure to meet you," Reid told Keziah politely shaking her hand firmly his eyes never leaving her face. Reid tried his best not to blush, as he didn't want anybody to know that he was attracted to Hotch's sister at least until they had a chance to talk, but he didn't succeed. Reid couldn't seem to help himself as a light red blush covered his face as his mind immediately went into the gutter and started coming up with scenarios, that had more to do with his blushing then anything else. These scenarios saw Keziah totally nude beneath him as he made love to her, nipping and licking at her lovely breast even as his penis entered her gorgeous body and how she was wet and ready for his entrance. He imagined spurting his seed into her body and having her climax from it. As various scenarios ran through his mind his cock begin to harden in his underwear, as he was after all a young man with a pretty healthy libido. He was normally too shy to talk to all the girls that tended to surround Hotch and Morgan, whenever they entered a bar and sometimes a restaurant, as both men tended to be magnets for the opposite sex. Morgan, of course, reveled in the attention, while Hotch very politely always brushed them off and had even before he and Emily had met.

Get your mind out of the gutter, Reid silently ordered himself firmly. Now is not the time.

Reid didn't notice that Morgan looked like he was ready to make a smart comment when Hotch glared at him and he stayed silent.

"It's nice to meet you as well, as I've heard so much about all the men and women that my brother works with," Keziah and said in a soft musical voice. "It's nice to meet all of you in person."

"Reid, why don't you take the rest of the day off?" Hotch suggested observing the interaction between his teammate and his sister and was very pleased at what he saw. However, he didn't want to give Reid a chance to overthink his and Keziah's meeting and brush off his attraction to his sister as his imagination. Reid was way too logical sometimes and depended on his brain instead of what his heart was telling him. Hotch was hoping to avoid a scenario that would cause a great deal of emotional pain for both him and his sister, a situation he wanted to stop from happening if at all possible.

"It's a slow day anyway and JJ or I will contact you if we happen to catch a case, but that's unlikely," Hotch added.

Keziah shot her brother grateful and Hotch winked at her.

"Oh, no, I couldn't do that," Reid protested.

"Go," Emily urged him also seeing the same thing that her mate had. "It's only a paperwork day after all and you've already completed most of the forms thanks to the fact that you read so fast. Why don't you show Keziah around the city some? I'm sure she would be interested in seeing some of the sites."

"That sounds like a very good idea," Keziah said in a soft musical voice directing a look at Reid who immediately crumbled like a cookie that had been stepped on multiple times.

"Alright, I'll be in tomorrow bright and early then," Reid said.

Hotch almost suggested that Reid take a few days off, but stopped himself knowing that his subordinate would just dig in his heels and refuse to do so if he pushed the issue so he would have to let Keziah convince him to take a few days.

Emily looked as if she was about to make a suggestion and Hotch looked at her and shook his head negatively and Emily nodded in acknowledgement.

"I'm hoping, that we can all get together, so that Emily and I can get to know each other," Keziah suggested to her brother.

"That sounds like a good idea," Emily agreed immediately and Hotch nodded. "Perhaps, when you get some free time if we're not going out of town you can come over to our place."

"I would like you to stay with us as long as you're in town," Hotch added, "as what's the point of getting a hotel room and wasting the money when our home is plenty big enough. Of course, only if you don't get a better offer," Hotch added looking at Reid who promptly blushed, which he politely pretended not to notice.

"Thanks a lot, big brother," Keziah said kissing Hotch on the cheek before she turned back to Reid

"You're more than welcome, sis," Hotch said. "Now you two scat, I'll make sure that I fill out the appropriate paperwork."

Reid took that as his cue to leave and he tried to ignore the looks he knew he was getting from the rest of the team as he and Keziah headed for the elevator.

~~~Unexpected Bonds~~~


	7. Chapter 7

Part 7

"What was that all about?" Gideon asked not having clued into the fact that the two that had just left were mates.

"I would think that would be obvious, to an experienced profiler like yourself," Hotch answered immediately.

When Gideon still looked confused, Emily answered his unspoken question, "Aaron's sister Keziah and our own Dr. Reid are mates."

"I thought that's what was happening, but I wasn't sure until Hotch just confirmed it," said Morgan speaking for the first time. "I've known Reid a long time, just as long as everybody else here, except for Emily and I've never seen him blush so much, all in the space of a few minutes."

"So that's why you gave Reid the rest of the day off," JJ realized. "If the two of them hadn't left together it was likely that Spence would have convinced himself that his feelings for your sister, Hotch were all his imagination and that Keziah didn't feel the same way he did."

"Precisely," Hotch immediately agreed with a smile in JJ's direction, "and that would have caused a lot of emotional pain for both of them, something I'd like to avoid if at all possible. We all know how stubborn Reid can be and I'm expecting Keziah to convince him to take a few days off, so that they can get to know each other better. Personally, I think it will do him good for him to experience life outside of the job, as we know out of all of us he doesn't get out much and that's not good for his mind and especially not for his emotional well-being. We've all tried to get it Reid out of his comfort zone numerous times over the years, but he never wants to do anything except work, study new and interesting facts and sleep. Out of all of us he is the only one that doesn't have any hobbies or activities that don't involve his job in one way or another."

"Were you expecting this?" Gideon asked a little bit more sharply than he intended his anger clear.

"You should know the answer to that without me having to tell you," Hotch told his longtime teammate unconcerned at Gideon's anger. "To answer your question though, no, I wasn't expecting this, how could I? You can never really tell who a vampire's or shifter's mate is going to be, as there is just no way to predict such a thing with any accuracy, even if you know both people involved. Keziah showed up out of the blue, as I certainly wasn't expecting her and the fact that she and Reid are mates makes me happier than I can say, but no I wasn't expecting it. Emily and I just found each other six weeks ago and the odds of another one of my siblings finding their own mate so soon, well, they're astronomical. To date only three of my siblings had found their mates, if you disregard me and Emily and now Reid and Keziah and all of those were centuries apart, certainly not as close together as the four of us."

Gideon looked ready to protest and Hotch glared at him and even his teammate that he had worked together with for years could not stand up to the SSA Hotchner glare for very long. Of course, it had never been directed his way before either. "You will not interfere in their relationship, is that understood Jason Gideon? Reid thinks of you as a father and a father knows when a child has grown up and lets them go their own way. You have to realize that technically Reid hasn't been a child, since his father left when he and his siblings were 10 years old and it doesn't matter that he comes off as innocent as new driven snow. If you dare interfere in their budding relationship I guarantee you that if I don't tear you apart for hurting them emotionally, Keziah will, as us vampires are very protective and territorial of our mates, even before the bond has been completed, so may I strongly suggest you stay out of it? You will if you know what's good for you."

"And the same can be said of shifters," Morgan added and Hotch nodded at the big black man in acknowledgment.

"Gideon give it a rest as the man is nearly 30 and old enough to make his own decisions one way or the other," JJ told the older man, beyond exasperated with his attitude.

"If you interfere in his relationship you will lose him, as I have no doubt what he will decide in the end," Emily informed her superior. "As has already been explained the pull of the mate bond is incredibly strong and since shifters also have their own version of the bond Reid will feel the pull just as Keziah does."

"I have to agree," Morgan said speaking up. "I always thought that Reid needed to find himself a girlfriend at the very least, but he was so shy around women I didn't see that happening. Hotch's sister is the best thing that's ever happened to him and I would think you would be happy for him Gideon instead of being against their budding relationship."

"The man can't stay an innocent forever," JJ added and the rest of the team nodded at that.

"As much as some people might like them to," Emily added, not mentioning any names, although everybody knew who she was referring to.

"Look, it's not that I don't want Reid happy," Gideon finally protested, "It's just that this development was unexpected."

"So was the bond I share with Emily," Hotch pointed out logically. "I certainly didn't expect Emily to walk into my office six weeks ago and both of us know immediately that we were meant to be together. However, it happened and neither one of us could be happier about that. None of us ever expected for Reid to meet his mate and that it would be my younger sister, but again it happened and we should all be happy for him. We all know that he doesn't have a large group of friends, really no one except his siblings and the team."

"Besides, having friends is different then finding someone to settle down with," JJ said and everybody, except Gideon nodded in agreement with the blond's words. "I suspect that we'll start to see some positive changes in Spence pretty soon depending how fast their relationship progresses."

"You can't keep smothering him in cotton wool. You need to let him fly free," Morgan told Gideon. "Maybe Keziah will bring Reid out of his shell when it comes to certain things, particularly social situations."

"If anybody can accomplish that task, it's my sister, who has confidence to spare. Of course, that's partly due to the centuries under her belt, as she used to be just like Reid and that was extremely shy. Of course, getting away from home and traveling the world, gaining experience helped with that," Hotch smirked. "I for one have no intention on interfering with their budding relationship unless Reid does anything to hurt my sister, like digging in his heels and refusing to accept the bond that is between them. Then and only then will I interfere as neither Keziah or Reid would appreciate if I butted into their business. Trust me, you don't want my sister mad at you, as she has quite the temper and isn't afraid to use it. Just because I'm her brother wouldn't stop her from at the very least yelling at me if she felt she had cause."

Gideon said nothing, but the slump of his shoulders told everybody that he had given in.

Gideon knew that everything his teammates had said was absolutely correct and he had no grounds whatsoever to object to Reid's relationship. It wasn't that he objected to the young man that he thought of as a son being in a relationship, it was just that this mate thing with Hotch's sister had caught him flatfooted and woefully unprepared. Reid had never even dated as far as he knew and shouldn't he have some experience in that area before he found his mate and settled down? The one thing that Gideon feared was that Reid would decide to be turned into a vampire and leave the team completely in order to get control of the bloodlust that he as a new vampire would have to do. Gideon well knew that Reid being turned into what Hotch and Emily were as inevitable as death and taxes, because there was no way that Hotch would allow his sister to have her heart broken when Reid died a natural death in a few decades and he doubted that Keziah would either. Gideon knew that Hotch was to honorable to not give Reid the choice and he was sure that his sister was the same. However, if Reid decided against being turned Gideon had no doubt whatsoever that the decision would be taken out of his hands and that he would soon be a vampire though he couldn't see Reid objecting, since Keziah was his other half after all.

"When I tell Garcia about this her squeals of happiness and delight will probably be heard on the other side of the building," Morgan said with a smile. "We all know how happy she was for Emily and Hotch and since she considers Reid her baby she'll be even more delighted for him then she was for them."

"I totally agree with that," JJ said with a smile. "I'm sure we'll be celebrating their engagement at the the very least before to much longer as unlike Hotch and Emily. Reid isn't a vampire after all and therefore, doesn't have the same priorities as someone whose been around for awhile has."

"Penelope will want to start planning their wedding just like she's already doing for our other couple," Morgan added.

Nobody who knew Penelope Garcia could disagree with that statement as the BAU's technical analyst just loved to plan all types of occasions and Reid would likely have to try to reel in her enthusiasm, so she didn't go way overboard.

~~~Unexpected Bonds~~~

"So…" Reid began just a little nervously. Reid tried his best to not run a hand through his hair a nervous action, that he was sure that Keziah would pick up on if she was even half as observant as her brother, but on the other hand she was bound to be already aware that he was scared out of his mind or at least more nervous than he had ever been in his life, because his heartbeat was beating triple time for one thing and Keziah as a vampire would be able to hear it.

Reid sat in his favorite coffee shop that wasn't too far from where he worked with a cup of coffee in his hand, while Keziah had a glass of animal blood.

Normally he avoided these types of situations like the plague, but he couldn't do that this time around considering that the two of them were mates and Hotch would kill him if he didn't make the effect. Besides, he would be miserable without Keziah and he knew it, so he had to find a way to get over his nervousness

"There's no need to be nervous," Keziah told Reid gently reaching out a hand and touching his arm.

"I'm sorry," Reid apologized immediately. "I usually avoid this kind of situation like the plague. I can't do that this time around though, since we both know that we were meant to be together, but I've never talked to a woman that had a romantic interest in me in my life."

"So, we'll take it slowly," Keziah said, even though her inner vampire violently disagreed with that statement. "Right now, why don't we just talk and get to know each other a little better."

Reid smiled a little and started to relax at Keziah's calm acceptance.

"Why don't you tell me about your work, and the rest of the team and we'll go on from there," Keziah suggested with a smile that melted Reid's insides.

"Well, Morgan and I are almost like brothers," Reid began starting to truly relax for the first time since he had laid eyes on Keziah Hotchner. "I believe it's because he only has two sisters despite the fact that he's also a shifter just like I am, just a different type. Then there is JJ and a better big sister you couldn't hope to find. She's the only one that calls me Spence. Gideon is more of a father figure and in fact he's the one that urged me to join the FBI and pulled me directly into the BAU knowing that that's where I would fit. If I had gone into another department the other agents likely would've resented me for my intelligence or for some other reason, not that they don't anyway because nobody has ever been pulled directly into the behavioral analyst unit before. The BAU is the most prestigious unit that the FBI has and normally you have to have at least 8 to 10 years experience in at least one other department before you're even considered. Technically, I am above other agents in other departments in terms of authority and that's one of the major reasons that a lot of them resent me."

"So Gideon saw something special in you," Keziah summarized.

"Well, I do have an IQ of 187, an eidetic memory and I know more facts, figures and trivia then any other person that I've ever met and some of that information is very obscure," Reid admitted. "I'm not much of a social person so I spend most of my time either working or reading. Me and my three siblings went to college at just 13, which is how I got into the BAU so young as I was just 23."

"I won't ask you about Emily as I know you haven't known her long and I already know my brother quite well."

"Well, that just leaves Penelope Garcia who's the teams technical analyst," Spencer said. "I think of her like a crazy aunt because she's very cheerful and flamboyant. I always imagined that she and Morgan would get together because they flirt every chance they get even on phone calls, but if she was Morgan's mate they would've gotten together long since, so I guess they'll always just remain very good friends, who look out for each other and who like to flirt playfully."

"There's nothing wrong with that, just so long as both understand that it's nothing serious," Keziah said and Reid nodded in agreement.

"Garcia always manages to bring a little bit of cheerfulness to the job, even when we're frustrated or upset because we can't figure out who a particular unsub is until they've killed someone else, usually several someones."

"So any other siblings, besides, the three you mentioned?" asked Keziah. "I know it's unusual for a shifter not to have lots of siblings, but it does happen occasionally."

"Yes, I have siblings, besides, the three that are the same age I am," Reid said with a smile. "Six more siblings that are younger then me and were two sets of triplets, four girls two boys. I am the oldest, but only by about two minutes to my brother. I'm sure you know that ten children is about average in a shifter a family."

"Yes, I do," Keziah confirmed.

The two of them sat together in silence as a each sipped their drink as they studied each other. Keziah so wanted to turn Spencer Reid into a vampire right then and there and then make love to him for days on end, but she would be patient, because she knew that her mate would never agree to the change at least until they got to know each other, although hopefully, they would at least complete their bond before then.

Her mate was so shy when it came to relationships anyway, so she was going to have to be extremely careful that she didn't do anything that might frighten him off, even temporarily. She guessed quite accurately that someone with Spencer's intelligence had probably been picked on because if he had gone to college at 13 along with his three siblings that meant that the four of them must have completed their schooling really fast. Keziah wouldn't be surprised to discover that the four of them had been more than five or six years ahead of their peers academically. Teenagers tended to resent anybody who showed them up, even if it wasn't meant that way and so she could quite accurately predict they had been bullied and picked on, but at least they'd had each other.

"So do you want children?" Keziah asked next and Reid answered honestly..

"I do, despite the fact that schizophrenia runs in my family," Reid said.

"I know what that is," Keziah said before we ask. "So which of your family has it? Your mother or your father?"

"My mother, as my father is a shifter just like I and my siblings are. As far as it is known shifters can't get that that particular disease, so it is unlikely that me or my siblings will ever inherit it. However, there is still so much unknown about a shifter's biology that it is still very possible that I or one of my siblings might get it someday," Reid answered with a shrug.

"I've never known a shifter that has schizophrenia and I've known some really intelligent ones, so it might very well only be a human disease," Keziah said. "Still, it is fairly rare so you are right to be worried, as it has never been proven that shifters can't get it. So would you like you tell me about your childhood you don't have to if you don't want to though."

"My childhood wasn't very pleasant, Keziah," Reid told his mate with a sad expression. "It wasn't physically abusive, just mostly neglectful. My father abandoned the family when I and my three siblings were 10. For a shifter to do that to his own family, especially since usually they tend to pretty overprotective, well, my father William found himself unwelcome in the shifter community of Las Vegas. We lived in a neighborhood that was a mixture of shifters, humans and even a few magicals and the shifters made sure to look after us and provide us with enough to get food and other necessary supplies and they also forced our father to keep paying the bills for the electricity. They also made sure that we had the necessary funds to buy clothes and food, as he was just going to leave us without anything. His wife, my mother was so sick by then and while the medicine she was taking helped her, it was not always enough. My mother was often lost in our own little dream world not even remembering our existence and I'm not sure what me and my siblings would have done if not for the shifter community. When the four of us went to college at 13 we knew that the shifter community would look after our six younger siblings and make sure that they were fed and everything else was taken care of like clothes and that they got to school. They also looked after mom while we were gone and never breathed a word about our situation so that social services wouldn't come and scoop us up and place us in separate foster homes."

"I want to go hunt your father down and rip him to shreds," Keziah growled lowly furious.

"That is not the way, Keziah," Reid told his mate calmly. "It's not that I don't appreciate the sentiment, as your brother said much the same thing when he learned of my past, but I'm getting my revenge by making something of myself. Something my father never believed would happen, as he thought me and all his children were wastes of space, even though my youngest siblings were only a few months old when he left. All of us have our own ways of getting back at father, even if he never knows it. One of my brothers is a doctor, a surgeon actually, one became a mechanical engineer as that kind of thing always fascinated him as a child. One of my sisters became a teacher. Perdita always did have a way with little kids," Spencer smiled. "Another of my sisters became a childcare worker, while another became a police officer. My youngest siblings have just graduated college not too long ago and are just getting started in the careers they have chosen. I admit that out of all my siblings mine is the most highly visible as the team is often featured in the paper of whatever city we are in and sometimes on the news. My point is, that while I can understand your feelings I want my father to continue to live his life, so that when he finally does die he'll face his final judgment and have to explain why he abandoned his family, for no reason really. Yes, by the time I was ten my mother was sick, but even if he had left us he still should have supported us without having to be forced to and still acted as our father and offered advice when we were having a problem. I want him to feel guilty if he ever sees me on TV or in the paper making a success of myself, something he claimed would never happen. If that happens he'll almost certainly look up his other children and see just how successful all of them are despite his abandonment and make him feel so guilty that he loses sleep over it. That will be his children's revenge. It's a funny thing about human, magical or shifter nature, but a lot of times you want to keep an eye on somebody, even if it's only from a distance like over say the internet. Especially if that somebody is of interest to you like one of your children for example, so I won't be surprised if father is keeping an eye on all his children over the internet or through some kind of other method. William Reid will get what's coming to him in just a few short decades and I want you to promise me that you won't go looking for revenge."

"All right," Keziah finally agreed, "but only for you."

"That's all I ask," Reid replied with smile that made Keziah automatically smile back.

"So what happened to your mother now that all her children all grown up?" asked Keziah.

"She's in an institution in Las Vegas," Spencer explained. "My siblings and I split the cost of that, since it's expensive and although I could afford it myself my other siblings insisted that they help out. Oliver and I take the biggest chunk of that because we make the most as Ollie's a doctor as I said earlier and therefore, makes plenty, although that's a recent development."

"Well, you told me about your childhood at least in general, so I'll tell you about mine. In some ways, it was even worse then yours was, as yours was just neglectful while mine was fairly mentally abusive. I'm sure you know that vampires as a race well you can't really kill them unless you burn their body parts after ripping them from their body, but you can certainly do a lot of physiological damage. Just because you aren't easy to kill doesn't mean that we can't be physically hurt. A slap for example will be felt much more than it would be by mortals because our nervous system can only handle so much agony before it knocks them unconscious. Us vampires don't have any filters I guess you could say on what we can feel, because you can't really knock us unconscious."

Reid nodded for he had known this, but then again he knew a lot about just about anything, so that wasn't really all that surprising.

"Even as children we don't need to sleep, although for the first few months all we really do is drink blood and learn to walk and talk, but by the time we're two months old, we've mastered our basic motor skills and can drink blood from a cup for example instead of being fed it from a bottle. Really my first clear memory is of my parents fighting, but then that happens a lot, so it's not in the least unusual."

"Hotch did mention once that his parents marriage was arranged," Reid admitted. "Personally, I think arranged marriages should never happen, especially in what is now the 21st century, as they rarely work out and it makes even less sense for a race that only has one true mate, but then that's just my opinion," Reid added with a shrug. "For humans I can kind of understand it, although I still don't approve, but then they don't have just one mate. Having children or even getting married before you find your mate is one thing, but it should be voluntary and not forced by someone who is supposed to love you and this is especially true if it's your parents doing the forcing."

"I agree on all counts," Keziah promised him making a bold move and reaching her hand over until she was able to grasp her mate's wrist, very gently, since she was well aware that she could crush the bones if she wasn't careful.

Spencer looked truly startled for a moment and then relaxed and even smiled at her and so Keziah took that to mean that Spencer didn't mind her touch and had just been shocked that she had done so.

"However, we have to remember, that my parents are over a century older then even Aaron and arranged marriages were much more common back then. Apparently they didn't want to have children right away in fact I think they would have preferred not to have them at all. Every once in awhile though it happens, even if a lot of my mother's pregnancies are a decade or more apart, not all of them, but a lot."

"So how many siblings do you have?" asked Reid more curiously than anything else.

"At last count 142,"

"Wow!" Reid whistled impressed, "For your parents to have that many children considering they don't even seem to like them that much..."

"It's more of a way for my father to prove how manly and vital he is," Keziah said with a shrug. "I don't really care one way or the other, although I certainly feel sympathy for any child that grows up in that house."

"With an attitude like that it wouldn't surprise me to discover that you have half siblings," Reid said.

"Yeah, I probably do," Keziah admitted, "although at least if I do they didn't have to grow up with my father."

"If your mother doesn't want children why doesn't she just get herself fixed?" asked Reid.

"My father dominates their marriage I'm afraid and he would never allow my mother to get herself permanently fixed, even if it was possible and even if I think having 142 children is ridiculous. Unfortunately, it isn't possible to get a vampire female permanently fixed," Keziah said.

Reid looked startled as he hadn't known that, but he would try to discover why it wasn't possible to have a female vampire permanently fixed later. As unusual as it was he wasn't really interested in knowing the answer right then as he had other things to concentrate on like the sound of his mate's beautiful voice.

"I love children I do and while I would love to have children with you someday it would be a mutual decision and would not be forced on me. If we do have that many children it will be because we decided we wanted them, not because you demanded and forced me to have sex with you and therefore, got me pregnant," Keziah added.

"I would never force you to do anything that you didn't want to do," Reid told her quietly.

"I know that, just from the few minutes I've spent talking to you I already know you're a totally different type of person then either one of my parents is," Keziah promised him giving his wrist a gentle squeeze. "It was just an example nothing more. Besides, we are mates and that's a totally different type of situation then my parents. Mates can never harm each other physically and sure we'll argue at some point and hurt each other mentally and emotionally, since we can't get along all the time, mates or not. We'll always apologize afterwards though and be genuinely remorseful, but physical abuse is out of the question and is impossible between mates."

"That's true of vampires, but for shifter, yes, we can say slap our mate because we're angry but we feel the physical force of that slap with a least triple the amount of force," Reid said quietly. "Some shifters might not mean to physically slap their mate or abuse them in anyway, but sometimes they get so angry that they forget. However, if they say punch their mate because they are angry at them for some reason they will feel the same physical force at, at least triple the strength. Some shifters have trouble controlling their tempers and take it out on their mates, but it doesn't happen very often, just rarely."

"I would think if you feel the punch or slap that you gave your mate and at triple strength that you would learn to control your temper or at least take it out on something other than the most important person in the world to you," Keziah suggested delicately.

"We are partly animal as well and in my case that's a wolf," Reid explained, "so we have our animal instincts as well as other traits that come from animal counterparts to consider. In some cases, well, it just leads to them having a very volatile temper. Of course, environment, the way they were raised and so forth has a lot to do with it as well. As for me, I'm not claiming I don't have a temper, but I very rarely lose it, so you don't ever have to worry about me being abusive towards you. I'm already coming to love you so much and all we've done is sit here and talk for the last couple of hours, which is not surprising since we are mates after all. Also wolves are always loyal to their pack and their mates and would never even think about being abusive towards them, so it's always other species that don't have these traits that do that."

"Your father wasn't," Keziah pointed out.

"Yes, well my father and my mother weren't mates," Reid shrugged. "You don't have to tell me that my father is a useless waste of space, at least when it comes to maintaining his marriage and lazy as well, as he wasn't willing to put in the work required. Sometimes even shifters have aberrations just like humans, although it certainly doesn't happen as often."

Keziah dropped the subject for the moment for talking about his father was obviously just as sore a subject for her mate as her parents were for her.

"So when do you want to complete the bond?" Keziah asked. "If you want to wait awhile, well, I'm not sure how long I can actually, but I'll certainly try my best."

"Well, your brother did give me the rest of the day off and I'm sure he wouldn't mind if I took a couple of days," Reid mused. "I have a lot of leave time saved up, because I hardly ever take any of it, since I like to stay busy. I don't do too well with a lot a free time on my hands and I also don't like to leave the team shorthanded. I should warn you now that I'm going to be out of town a lot for work and I don't want that to change, since I really love my job a lot, most of the time anyway."

"I would never force you to change jobs," Keziah promised him. "I might not like you being gone so much, but if you love what you're doing, then I wouldn't be much of a mate to you if I forced you to change just to make me happy. Once we complete the bond it'll be easier being away from you, not easy mind you, just easier, because that way my inner vampire knows that you accepted being her mate and that you'll be back."

"You haven't mentioned wanting to change me into a vampire," Reid mentioned finally after more than five minutes of comfortable silence as each became lost in their own thoughts.

"I was waiting until we got to know each other better," Keziah explained calmly. "I should've known that you would figure out that's what was going to happen at some point, whether or not you agree to it, although I can't see you objecting considering..."

"That we are mates," Reid filled in his mate's thought easily.

"Exactly," Keziah immediately agreed.

"The only problem I see is with my transformation is I would have to take at least six months to a year off in order to master my bloodlust and I don't want to lose a job that I love," Reid said.

"I'm sure the FBI has rules about one of their employees being the turned into a vampire, as I'm sure it's happened in the past," Keziah suggested.

"Probably," Reid agreed after a moment of thought. "The FBI has been around a long time after all and I'm sure at least one of their employees at some point found out that they were the mate of a vampire and so went through the painful transformation soon afterwards. I'll look into it as soon as I can."

"Why don't you ask my brother I'm sure he knows," Keziah suggested.

"I will," Reid immediately decided, as that would save himself the trouble of having to dig out the information himself, not that he would have any trouble doing so, but he didn't see any reason since he likely already had someone he could get the info from. Hotch had been part of the FBI for decades longer then he'd even been alive, so he was sure that his boss would indeed know what the procedures were. Hotch had been lucky that when he met Emily she was already a vampire so that there was no transformation required and so long as they kept it at a professional level while they were on the job there would be no complaints about their relationship from the higher-ups. Reid was sure however, that Strauss didn't like the situation, but there was really nothing she could do, not legally at any rate. Of course, Strauss would like the situation even less when she discovered that he had found his mate in Hotch's younger sister, but since Keziah didn't work at the FBI there would be no problem and no conflict of interest. "I'm sure you're right and Hotch knows the procedure for this type of situation as I'm sure it's happened at least once before and likely more than that."

"Why do you call him Hotch?" asked Keziah curiously.

"Because the FBI doesn't exactly encourage the use of first names, and he is our boss after all, but Hotchner takes a lot longer to say then the derivative," Reid shrugged.

"I meant he's going to be your brother-in-law so why don't you call him by his first name at least when you own your own personal time," Keziah suggested.

"If he asks me to I will, but until then he is going to be Hotch," Reid told his mate firmly. "I'm not about to call someone by their first name unless invited to do so, especially not someone like Hotch who is my boss after all and who is also my senior by a great many centuries even if he doesn't look much older than I am."

And also extremely intimidating when he wants to be, Reid added in his thoughts.

"Why don't we go back to my apartment, so we can talk some more," Reid suggested. "My place isn't very big, but then I'm not home very much either so I didn't see any point of having a large place just to sleep. However, we can get a larger place together if you like, as I have a feeling my life is about to change quite a bit from what it was previously."

"I'll go looking for condos while you're working," Keziah agreed. "It's better just to rent a place, because I doubt that we'll stay there very long once we start to have children."

"I think children are at least a few years away," Reid said blushing all the way to the tips of his ears."

"Probably," Keisha said with a shrug changing the subject. "So do you want to complete the bond before or after you're a vampire?"

"Wouldn't it be rather dangerous for me anyway if we did it before I was like you?" Reid asked. "I mean you are much stronger then any other species, even if a shifter tends to take on certain aspects of the animal that they represent, including physical strength, sense of smell, hearing eyesight and so forth."

"Which will improve by at least 500% once you're like me, likely more," Keziah said and Spencer nodded having known this, "but to answer your question if I was the male and you the female then yes, it would be dangerous, unless that vampire watched themselves and their strength every single second. But thanks to the fact that I'll be on the bottom, well, I won't have to watch my strength as much as I would otherwise. Besides, the fact that we are mates means that we can't physically harm each other anyway, through that doesn't include things like bruises, which will be impossible once you are turned, but we can't do each other permanent harm as my inner vampire and you're inner a wolf won't allow it."

"That's a very good point," Reid admitted thoughtfully. "Of course, if we weren't mates it would be different."

"Totally different," Keziah agreed immediately trying not to let her anxiety show. "Besides, vampires having sex with humans or shifters happens all the time, even if they're not mates. That vampire just has to be really careful since humans in particular are really delicate at least to us due to our strength."

"Yes, it does," Reid agreed. "I hadn't thought of it like that, and if I had I never would've brought the subject up."

"Well, why don't we head back to your apartment?" Keziah suggested with a smile and twinkling dark eyes that were the same shade as Hotch's own.

"All right," Reid immediately agreed plopping down a large tip on the table considering that they had been taken up the space for over three hours. "Let's go."

Keziah rose from her seat gracefully and Reid did the same, although he certainly didn't possess his mate's innate grace and the two headed out of the coffee shop together hand-in-hand.

~~~Unexpected Bonds~~~


	8. Chapter 8

Part 8

Hotch picked up his phone before it could ring for a second time as he suspected he knew who was on other end and if it wasn't who he thought he would be shocked.

"Hello?" Hotch said into the phone. "Yes, Reid." Hotch paused as he listened. "Yes, I'll put in the paperwork for you to take off for the next few days and if you need more time let me know. You have quite a bit of leave time coming to you so don't be shy about taking it." Hotch listened again and then hung up the phone.

As soon as he had put the phone headpiece back in its cradle a full blown smirk appeared on his face. It looked like he wasn't going to have to kick some sense into Reid after all, because it appeared that things were going well between his subordinate who would probably become his brother-in-law pretty soon and his sister. Hotch suspected that Reid would likely be going through the transformation into a vampire sometime within the next six months or so. He was sure Reid was worried about losing a job that he loved and so they would have to have a conversation about it at some point, although he was going to wait for Reid to approach him before he said anything. He was sure that when Reid returned on Monday he would be having that conversation, unless of course, they were immediately flying to some distant city. This type of conversation wasn't for others to overhear until the people involved were ready to reveal the information, and so perhaps, he would invite Reid and Keziah to his home. He suspected that Keziah and Reid would be looking for a place that they could move into together sometime in the next week or two.

Hotch well knew that this was a big step for Reid, but personally, he was glad to see it happen, as he had always thought that the younger man was too isolated, as all he did as far as he was aware, was work, sleep, eat and read and not for pleasure. Him getting some other activities into his life when he wasn't working would be good for him, Hotch knew. Hotch wouldn't have cared if he had gotten himself a girlfriend for example, just so long as Reid had some other activity in order to relax outside the job, but now he was glad that Reid wasn't encumbered with a girlfriend considering.

Hotch would be more than ecstatic to welcome Spencer Reid into his family, as he was a fine young man, one of the finest that the world had produced in a long time, as he was generous, kind, tenderhearted, loving, brilliant without the arrogance that often went along with being a genius, compassionate and loyal. Reid had his hangups, but then everybody did including himself, so that wasn't a problem.

"What has you smirking?" Emily immediately asked, as Hotch exited his office.

"Oh, just the fact that Reid called me and is taking a few days off," Hotch told the team his smirk widening. Everybody except Gideon was present as he had left earlier.

"He did?" asked JJ in surprise.

"He did," Hotch confirmed. "I told him to take as long as he needed, as apparently he and my sister are getting along just fine. He'll be back Monday, but I told him that if he needed more time just to tell me and I'll make sure he gets it.

"Well, I'm rather...surprised," JJ decided. "I figured Spence would dig in his heels about taking time off, as we all know he's a workaholic and be back to work tomorrow."

"You don't understand how strong the pull of the mate bond is," Emily informed her friend gently. "Even though Aaron and I have already mated the pull of the bond is still incredibly strong and it's going to be that way for at least a few years. Even after it dies down a little we'll always feel the bond that is between us it just won't be so strong or all-consuming. It's going to be even stronger between Reid and Keziah simply because it has yet to be consummated, as they will both feel all that untapped potential energy between them."

"So you're saying that the bond between my baby and bossman's sister is probably very strong and therefore, Reid isn't going to want to be away from her at least for a few days," Garcia said speaking for the first time

"Exactly," Hotch agreed grinning at the thought before Emily could. "I suspect that the two of them will be doing a great deal of talking over the next few days and begin getting to know each other and what takes place after that is none of our business."

"You suspect that they'll complete the bond," Morgan butted in.

"If they do I'll be happy for them," Hotch answered.

"Well, at least you won't have to talk some sense into Spence we like you told all of us except Garcia that you would," JJ said.

"So far, but I am cautiously optimistic," Hotch said cautiously. "Until the bond is actually complete, there's still the possibility that I might have to talk some sense into him, but so far things seem to be going well. We all know that Reid wasn't exactly raised in the most nourishing of environments due to his father neglect, then his leaving and his mother being so sick. He basically, had to raise himself in other words."

"I would think that the shifter community stepping in would have counteracted at least some of his father's neglect," Garcia mentioned.

"It likely did, but Reid was ten when his father left and more than half childhood was already gone. I'm sure that the shifters of his neighborhood took up his training that his father didn't do, but unlike his younger siblings, he was more than halfway to being grown up and I doubt his rather unusual intelligence helped the situation. We'll see how it goes, and I'm cautiously optimistic that that talk won't be necessary."

"Don't you mean a swift kick in the ass?" Morgan suggested with a smirk of his own.

"I would only do that if talking didn't work," Hotch smirked. "Reid is going to be my brother-in-law after all and trust me, you don't want my sister mad at you, so that would be a last resort."

"I hope it all works out," Garcia said, "as all I wanted to see my baby happy and while I'm not saying he is not happy with his job it's totally different to have someone you love unconditionally as part of your life."

"I definitely agree with that statement," Emily said, as she looked up at Hotch and winked.

"Reid out of all of us needs somebody to pull him out of his shell and get him involved more in the community or at least see that he gets out more," JJ said. "I've been worried for years that he's going to burn out because all he does is work, sleep, eat and his only extracurricular activity outside that is to read and not just for fun or to relax either, but to learn new facts to help out the team and that's all he does."

"Well, he does play chess with Gideon on the plane," Morgan said, "although I agree that isn't really enough. Me trying to get him to go out for a drink sometimes is like pulling teeth, as we all know he usually refuses outright and any attempt to convince him just sees him dig in his heels and get stubborn."

"That's because you're trying to get him out of his comfort zone and that's never easy for anyone not just Reid, especially considering he's innately shy at least when it comes to social situations," JJ said. "Trying to get someone to expand their horizons unless they want to is never an easy task."

"Trust me, Keziah will work on that," Hotch promised the others. "I can understand Reid not being much of a drinker considering his rather unorthodox upbringing and the fact that he wasn't even old enough to consume alcohol when he graduated college is a factor, but my sister will get him to come out of his shell and perhaps, find some activity that he enjoys doing that will help him relax. Something that doesn't involve reading."

"I suspect I know what that activity will be," Garcia said with smug grin and Morgan nodded in agreement.

"At least for the foreseeable future," Morgan added with a smirk.

"Get your mind out of the gutter you two," JJ told the pair rolling her eyes at her two teammates.

"Ah, JJ, really Morgan and Garcia are correct in what they're thinking," Emily informed her friend. "That's exactly what they'll be doing for the foreseeable future once they complete the bond that they have, though whether that happens before Monday, well, there's really no way of knowing."

"Keziah will be more than ready to complete the bond, but will leave the decision up to Reid," Hotch said. "If Reid wasn't so shy when it came to women and relationships, due mostly to the fact that he never had a chance to gain any self-confidence in that area, which is partly due to the fact that his father is a useless bastard. But also because he never got to hang out with others that were just as intelligent as he was, well besides, his siblings, then we all know that the bond would be completed before Monday. However, because he is, it might be a little longer before it actually happens. Reid will feel the pull of the bond, just as my sister does and he will no more be able to resist it then he could fly without a plane."

"We all know that his father is useless, just as Hotch said and if my baby hadn't stopped me I would've had my revenge by now," Garcia said.

Everybody present except for Emily knew exactly what Garcia meant by revenge as she would have used her computers to ruin William Reid's financials at the very least and it would have taken Reid's father forever to get all that straightened out. Of course, Garcia might have gone even farther and put Reid's father on the sexual predators list just for starters if he hadn't talked her out of it.

"As much as we're disgusted by what Reid's father did to him, he wouldn't want any of us to get in trouble for giving him what he deserved," Hotch told Garcia firmly. "Reid and his siblings have their own way of getting back at the father who abandoned them and I wouldn't be surprised if William Reid has seen his son in the paper or on the news. If he has he's probably envious, unhappy and upset that his son is so successful and he might even be keeping an eye on all his children over the internet and feel the same emotions. For all any of us know he might even be in denial that it could possibly be his son, the son he abandoned, the son he swore would never be successful, since he claimed that they'd never amount to anything and were worthless wastes of space. He probably feels lik that not only about Spencer, but about all his children. In any case, that is the kind of revenge that Spencer and his siblings consider appropriate. Their type of revenge is where they live their lives to the best they are able and let their father, be unhappy, upset and envious at their successes and whether he even knows or not isn't relevant in their eyes. They know that he'll be facing his final judgment in just a few decades and that he'll get what's coming to him when he finally dies."

The rest of the team considered that and Emily for one thought it was a rather appropriate form of revenge, as it was very, very subtle.

"You know that sounds like Reid," Morgan finally ventured. "He wouldn't go for some dramatic form of revenge. He'd go for something more subtle, but still just as effective."

"Going for the dramatic wouldn't be as effective as the way Reid and his siblings are going about it," Emily pointed out. "Sure, it would be temporarily satisfying to come up with some dramatic way of getting revenge on the man that abandoned him, but the way Reid and his siblings are going about it is much more subtle and personally, I think it's appropriate, as this way they draw out the Senior Reid's agony for decades before the father that abandoned his children finally meets his maker. He was already being shunned by the shifter community of his hometown and that must really be eating him up inside and likely has been for years, as the people he'd known for years sided with the children that he decided to abandon for no real reason."

Everybody thought about that and even Garcia found out that she agreed.

"Whether or not Reid's father knows that his children are successful when he claimed they never would be is irrelevant, although I have no doubt that he's seen his son in the paper or on the news and if that's the case then it must be eating him up inside to see at least one of the children he abandoned so successful with no help from him and also proving him wrong in his prediction that Spencer would never amount to anything," Hotch said. He smirked for this was a revenge worthy of a vampire.

"If that's the case Reid's and his siblings successes must be driving him crazy," Morgan observed with a smirk, "which personally, I think is more than deserved."

"We'll also have to factor in the fact that Spence has found his mate and I won't be surprised if there's a wedding sometime in the near future, and the news will likely filter back to the elder Reid at some point," JJ said. "Now imagine how Spence's father will feel when he hears that one of the children he abandoned found his mate. I imagine he'll be green with envy when he finds out what a beautiful woman is his son's mate, which will only increase the amount of emotional agony he's in. You know me and normally I'm the nicest of people, but what Reid's father did to him and his other children, well, I don't mind if he's in emotional agony over learning all his children are so successful and that his oldest son at least has found his mate who's a stunningly gorgeous woman."

Even Hotch hadn't considered that angle, but he found that he agreed with JJ's assessment about William Reid being green with envy and jealousy when he heard his oldest son had found his mate and she was a stunningly, gorgeous intelligent woman. The fact that she was also a vampire was irrelevant.

"I totally agree with that assessment," Hotch told JJ with a genuine smile, "and it was an angle I had not yet considered, but you are right. I can definitely see Reid's father going green with envy and jealousy when he hears about his son finding his mate and the fact that she is a stunningly gorgeous woman as you said. It will probably have him practically frothing at the mouth, with lust and jealousy. Of course, he will likely consider the fact that Keziah also being a vampire irrelevant. That was a very astute observation JJ," Hotch complimented the blonde, who smiled.

"Thank you, but I just know Spence and how he thinks after all we've known each other for years," JJ said accepting the compliment. "He's not one for making a big bold statement. He's more the type that goes about quietly doing his job not really caring for accolades. He told me once that the reason he got so many degrees was everytime he got a new one it was his way of getting back at his father for his abandonment and to prove his father wrong about his predictions and he didn't really care whether or not his father ever found out."

This gave the rest of the team time to think and they found out they all agreed with JJ's assessment about their teammate's temperament.

"Well, I think it's time we all head home for the day," Hotch suggested. "I know it's a little early, but it's not like the paperwork won't be here tomorrow and we've already completed most of it in any case, and it's really not too long until quitting time."

The rest of the team definitely liked that idea and so they all headed for the elevator Hotch Emily hand-in-hand.

~~~Unexpected Bonds~~~

"Keziah, I love you more than life and I never imagined I would fall in love at all," Spencer began, even as he knelt having taken a ring box out of his pocket. "I always thought that my work and my friends were enough to keep me happy and content and I have since discovered I was wrong, ever since you walked in my life. I know we've only known each other a short amount of time, but as mates we already know that we belong together and so I'm asking you to share my life with me. I'm asking you to become my wife and my mate."

"Yes!" Keziah exclaimed excitedly, as she kissed her mate breathless in happiness. Keziah had thought it would be at least a couple of months before Spencer agreed to make love to her and this proposal caught her totally off guard, but that didn't mean that she wasn't happy about it, although ecstatic was probably closer to the truth.

Once the two had broken apart, if only because Reid still needed to breathe, the man in question took the ring out of the box and Keziah extended her right ring finger so that her mate could slip the band over it.

"Does that mean you're ready to take the next step?" Keziah asked her mate tentatively.

"Yes," Reid answered decisively. "I've never felt this relaxed around another woman before, well, except for JJ, Garcia and now Emily, but then none of the above have any romantic interest in me. Normally most women won't even notice me and those that do come onto me so strongly that I just want to escape as soon as possible. Now when I'm working it's different, as that's for the job and I do have to question them for cases to figure out if they are witnesses or suspects. However those that get into my personal space and come onto me so strongly scare me to death, as I never know how to handle that type of situation. You on the other hand took your time to get to know me and didn't drape yourself all over me or come on to me like so many women do, which only makes me uncomfortable and wanting to escape as soon as possible. Despite how nervous I was sitting in that coffee shop just a few days ago now, you helped me relax within a very short amount of time and were genuinely interested in me and learning everything you could about me as a person. Not many people have ever showed that kind interest before, or showed that they were genuinely interested in getting to know me and weren't just focused on me, because I was handsome and thought I would be a good lay in the sack.

"Also I've never told anyone that I didn't know really well about my past and that means that only the team knew what my childhood was like and about my father's abandonment and my mother's schizophrenia. You are now the only one that knows as much about me as the people I've worked with for years do, except for Emily but that's only because she's new to the team. The many hours we've spent talking when I wasn't sleeping have been some of the best in my life, so far and despite the fact that I love the work I do it can't compare to spending every free minute I have with you."

Keziah stared at her mate having never expected such a speech out of her mate, as he was usually a very self-contained and quiet person, but then she realized that neither one of them had barely scratched the surface of the others personality, as they had only known each other about three days. Perhaps, her mate only talked a lot and looked so relaxed with people he knew well. Yes, that was very possible actually, as Spencer wasn't exactly one of those people that liked to be around a lot of strangers. Keziah was sure when Spencer had first started working at the BAU it had taken him awhile to truly relax and enjoy his job once he had gotten to know the people he was working with. The team was now his family though, even if she knew that most of them would be gone in a few decades, except for her brother and his mate. Though that was going to happen anyway while Spencer was still alive as shifters could live up to 150 years or so. There were no guarantees that a shifter would live that long, it was a possibility depending on general health, diet, exercise and so forth.

"So does that mean you agree to be turned into a vampire?" asked Keziah cautiously not having brought the subject up again, except when she first mentioned it back in that coffee shop just three days ago.

"Yes," Spencer said firmly. "I never would have proposed if I hadn't decided to go through with being turned into a vampire, although I would like to wait awhile, before I actually go through with it. For one thing I need to let the team know my plans and give them time to get used to the idea, well, all except for your brother and Emily, who will be expecting nothing else," Spencer corrected. "Also I need check to see if I'll still have a job if I'm away for say a year getting control of my bloodlust. I also need to contact my siblings and discuss this with them since we're all pretty close and considering how we grew up that's not really surprising."

"Will your siblings understand about you being turned into a vampire?" asked Keziah, trying not to let her anxiety show.

"Well, the shifter community of Las Vegas helped all of us understand about the mate bond that we couldn't reject the person meant for us whether that was male or female, vampire, human, magical or another shifter. Not unless we wanted to face the consequences of that rejection, so yes, they will understand and agree with my decision. They will know that I'll still be part of their lives once I'm able to go out in public again that is, but as for Gideon, Morgan, JJ and Garcia, that's a different story. Morgan will likely understand since he's also a shifter like I am and our species only has one mate if they ever finds them, but as for the others...well, that remains to be seen. I'm pretty sure that JJ and Garcia at least will be very happy for me, but I have a feeling that Gideon's going to be a problem."

"Why is Gideon going to be a problem?" asked Keziah trying to understand.

"Well, he's very protective of me," Reid begin to explain. "He thinks of me like a son, since he's the one that discovered me at Caltech, urged me to go to the FBI Academy at Quantico and pulled me directly into the BAU calling in numerous favors to do so. Gideon is very set in his ways and seeing me in a romantic relationship is going to be hard enough for him to accept, since I've never been involved with another woman before. I just need to give Gideon time to get used to the idea that I will soon be a vampire, but that I'm not going to leave my friends, the people I consider my family, along with my siblings of course, in the process. I'll simply be on a rather extended leave of absence from my job, probably for about a year before I return."

"I see," Keziah said beginning to understand what Spencer had meant when he said that Gideon might be a problem. "Do you think that he'll be against our relationship?"

"Well, Gideon is human and not a vampire, magical or shifter, so he has no idea about the mate bonds, not in his heart anyway. Sure, I or Morgan or Hotch or Emily could try to explain it to him, but the only way to truly understand something like that is to experience such a thing for yourself. Unfortunately, humans don't have such a thing, which is why divorce is so prevalent among them. Why shifters and vampires just know when they have found the person they are meant to spend the rest of their lives with no matter how long or short they may be and humans or magicals do not I don't know. I'm not going to bother to speculate as I am a man of statistics, of facts and figures, not of guessing games. To answer your question I truly don't know which way Gideon will go as I can see two possible scenarios. One he accepts that I am in a serious, life-altering and permanent relationship as I have found my mate. Or the second option is he does not and begins to pull away from me, which basically means that we won't be as close as we are now. We'll still work together, but will no longer be like father and son."

Keziah nodded in acceptance at her mate's words as she realized that he knew his mentor, the man he considered a father figure Jason Gideon best.

"We'll just have to see what happens then," Keziah said and Spencer nodded in agreement.

"Yes, we will, but for now why don't we shelve this discussion as I believe we have better things to do," Reid suggested.

"Definitely, I feel as if I've been waiting too long for this day, even though I know it's only been 72 hours," Keziah immediately agreed enthusiastically heading for the bedroom where the bed was located Reid following quickly behind.

~~~Unexpected Bonds~~~


	9. Chapter 9

Part 9

Reid walked into work on Monday morning with a spring in his step, as he was so happy he was nearly whistling.

"Welcome back," Emily greeted him, as soon as he had stepped off the elevator into the bullpen.

"Thank you," Reid told Emily grinning happily

"So was your time off productive?" Emily teased him, even though it was obvious that it had been.

"I think you should be able answer that question without me having to say a word," Reid teased back, which was unusual for him, but he was in such a good mood.

"Congratulations and welcome to the family. You know Aaron will be very pleased when he learns," Emily offered giving Reid a hug, although this was rather difficult to do considering she was heavily pregnant and due in a week.

"Thank you," Reid told Emily kissing her cheek.

"I'm rather surprised that you went ahead and did it though, as I figured it would be awhile longer before you actually completed the bond," Emily said.

"It probably would have been, if it wasn't for the shifter community that lived in my neighborhood when I was growing up," Reid admitted with a smile. "I'll tell you the whole story sometime."

"I'll look forward to it," Emily said.

Emily didn't ask when her teammate's transformation would take place, as she already knew it would, even if that was six months or a year from now. "Why don't you go see Aaron and tell him the good news, although from the way you're grinning like a cat with a bowl of cream and a plate of fish as well I'm sure he'll be able to figure it out before you can say a word."

"I'm sure he will, and when Morgan gets here I'm sure he'll figure out why I'm in such a good mood and I won't even mind his teasing for a change," Reid admitted, as he headed for Hotch's office.

"You know I expected you to get here late, not early," Emily commented.

"Keziah, urged me to come into work saying that if I stuck around the apartment until the time I normally went in that we'd end up making love again," Reid admitted with a blush. "While I wouldn't have minded that, once we got started it would've been rather difficult to stop, so it was just better if I came in early, as I can get a headstart on the paperwork I know is waiting for me."

"You could've taken another few days off you know," Emily reminded him and Reid nodded.

"I could have, yes, but both Keziah and I agreed that we need to get used to being separated as soon as possible. We're both already aware that we're going to be separated quite a bit due to the travel requirements of the job I have and so we might as well get used to being separated now," Reid explained. "You and Hotch are so lucky that you actually work together and therefore, you're rarely apart, but unfortunately, the same can't be said for me and Keziah. I have no intention of leaving the BAU for many years to come and Keziah agreed that I should continue to do something I love doing."

"Keziah would never force you to leave a job you love as that wouldn't be what being mates is all about," Emily said and Reid nodded in agreement.

"I know, us shifters think much the same," Reid said with a nod. "You don't treat your mate like a second class citizen or demand they do something like quit a job they love, just so you can spend more time together. Being bonded is about equality, listening to your bonded, not keeping secrets and coming up with solutions to problems together."

Reid had no intention of mentioning that he had proposed to Keziah at least not until the whole team was together, although he supposed he should tell Hotch first considering that he was his mate's brother. He knew Hotch would be very happy for them and would have been even if he hadn't found Emily just seven weeks ago.

Emily said goodbye and Reid strode towards his boss's office knocking on the door once he arrived.

"Come in," Hotch called not bothering to look up from his paperwork figuring it was his mate. If he had been paying attention he would've heard voices out in the bullpen, since a vampire's hearing was very keen and one never lost that keen hearing. However, he was concentrating on getting as much paperwork done as fast he possibly could. Thanks to using vampire speed he was near the end of his first stack already and didn't even have a sore hand to show for his effects. They would always be more paperwork though, as it was neverending, but he still tried to get as much of it done as he could, since there was another stack already sitting on the corner of his desk, waiting to be read and signed.

Hotch looked up at the sound of footsteps that he recognized immediately as Reid's and not Emily's like he had been expecting.

"Well, you're certainly here bright and early," Hotch greeted him cordially.

"Well, I could say the same thing about you and Emily," Reid shot back trying to contain his grin and act normally.

"So what can I do for you this morning?" asked Hotch.

"Well, I just wanted to tell you I knew you were planning to kick my butt if I dared try to disregard the bond I feel with your sister and I wanted to tell you that was not going to be necessary," Reid explained.

Hotch didn't even look embarrassed of being so easily figured out, as he knew that the team he worked with everyday knew him extremely well, so he should've known that Reid would have no trouble figuring out what he was thinking.

"Oh? Why is that?" Hotch asked not bothering to deny the accusation nor was he upset with it either as he knew Reid was correct. Besides, the young man standing in front of his desk was now his brother-in-law if what he was thinking was correct and to a vampire a wedding didn't matter one jot, just completing the bond did. He knew with certainty that that was what Reid was about to tell him.

"Because Keziah and I already completed the bond and spent the weekend confirming it," Reid spelled out as clearly as he could, without actually mentioning the word sex.

"You did?" Hotch asked his normal poker face turning into a smile immediately pleased that he had indeed been right.

"We did," Reid confirmed finally grinning at his boss.

"Why don't you take a seat and tell me exactly what led up do you competing the bond so soon, as I figured it would be at least another week or two before you and Keziah got around to that," Hotch said. Reid complied folding himself down into one of the chairs that was in from of his boss's desk.

"We both know that my father was a useless ponce and didn't teach any of his children about what it meant to be a wolf shifter or about their own sexuality," Reid began and Hotch nodded for he did indeed know. "Luckily, there were several shifter families that lived in the same neighborhood as we did, although you know that already. What you don't know however, is the fact that there was this wolf shifter family that had several children around our age and the father was nice enough to take me and my brothers aside and explain certain facts of life to us, while the mother did the same for my sisters. It was me and my twin brother, that the father explained all about bonds and exactly what we could expect when we were about 12 almost 13. Since we would be heading off to college in the fall and the parents of our friends wanted to make sure we understood exactly what it meant to be a wolf shifter. We had been taking lessons anyway along with their own children and we had learned most everything we needed to know before we would head for college, so it was kind of a crash course. Our youngest siblings didn't have to learn everything so fast, because they wouldn't be heading off to college until the normal time because while they're intelligent, they weren't quite up to me and my three siblings level. Though the oldest triplets come to think of it did go at 16 which is still a couple years earlier than normal, but still much later then me and my siblings went.

"I often wished that Vince Clayborne was my father instead of William Reid, as he was kind and understanding, much moreso than our own father had ever been. Vince took the time to explain the facts of life and not just about shifters in general or wolf shifters in particular, but about other things. He explained how the shifters mate could be either sex and that I shouldn't fight against it if it happened to be someone that was the same-sex I was. In any case, I knew that your sister and I were meant to be together, so I wasn't about to fight against the bond that I knew we could both feel. But it's only because Vince took the time to listen to my concerns, offer me advice when I asked for it and actually talked to me as if I was a person with feelings, intelligence and thoughts of my own, unlike father that I gave in so easily."

"If I had known that I never would have thought that I might have to kick your ass until you listened to reason," Hotch said with a smile, which was tinged with relief.

"In any case, Keziah is the first woman that's had a romantic interest in me that I felt like I could talk to without getting all tongue-tied. Garcia, JJ and Emily are different as they're just my friends and have never thought of me in that way. She took the time to actually get to know me and help me get over my initial nervousness, as you know how I usually am around the opposite sex. How nervous they make me when they swarm all around, which is why I don't often go to bars with Morgan. I'm fine when I'm questioning witnesses that are female as they don't have any romantic interest in me either, it's mostly social situations where there're are a lot of women around that make me nervous."

"Believe me, I understand," Hotch told the younger man gently. "Women can be very aggressive and while a lot of men respond to that aggressiveness there are people just like you that do not. Women make you nervous because they come on to you so strongly that you just want to run and hide or at least extract yourself from the situation as quickly as possible."

"Of course, I'm well aware that some men, even most of them can be aggressive as well, but that's definitely not me as you well know. I know Morgan tries to get me out of my comfort zone by urging me to go to some bar with him, but I've never been the type that hangs around in such places. But then I wasn't even the right age to drink when I graduated college, so that's not really surprising," Reid said.

"And there's nothing wrong with that," Hotch said, "even if I know Morgan would, well not precisely disagree, just try to urge you to go with him to get you out of your comfort zone if for no other reason."

"That's likely the primary reason he does it," Reid agreed. Reid hesitated then asked. "Do you know what the procedure is for keeping your job when you're being turned into a vampire? I know I'll need to take some time off to get control of my bloodlust, but I would like to keep my job if it all possible."

"I was wondering when you we're going to ask me that," Hotch said with a smile. "I already anticipated your request and was going to invite you and Keziah to my house as that's a conversation that will require sometime and is best done in privacy anyway."

"I don't want to interrupt yours and Emily's privacy as you've only been together for seven weeks," Spencer protested.

"While that's true you're now part of my family," Hotch told Reid his tone firm. "I will be happy to have you over at my place, so I can explain the procedure to you and I know Emily will agree."

"So there is a way for me to come back after I get control of my bloodlust whether that takes six months or a year?" asked Reid trying not to sound hopeful.

"There is, though it doesn't happen very often, but the FBI has been around for a very long time and so it was bound to have happened at least once and it's actually happened a dozen times throughout the organization's long history," Hotch explained calmly.

"All right then," Reid said relaxing. "I told your sister that I wanted to wait awhile to go through the transformation as I need to give the rest of the team a chance to get used to the idea, particularly Gideon."

"Yes, Gideon will likely be a problem," Hotch agreed. "He's so set in his ways that it's going to be hard to change his view on certain subjects you being one of them."

"Believe me, I know it," Reid said slumping in his chair and sighing. "I've come to realize that whether or not our relationship remains after I am turned doesn't matter as Keziah is the most important person in the world to me. I won't deny that losing Gideon as my mentor, father figure and friend, losing Keziah isn't an option."

"I'm glad you see that," Hotch said approvingly causing Reid to blush. "As for Gideon, I have no idea what he will choose as he's an incredibly stubborn man, as we are both aware of, but if he decides to give up on your father/son relationship just because you're turned into a vampire then he isn't the man I think he is."

"Well, I know that JJ, Garcia and Morgan will accept my decision, or at least I'm pretty sure they will and you and Emily aren't even part of the equation since your vampires yourselves," Reid said.

"Yes, the three names you mentioned will accept your decision," Hotch assured him. "It's going to be Gideon that's your main sticking point."

"I know, that was my analysis as well," Reid agreed looking dejected.

"How are you doing being separated from Keziah for the first time in almost a week," Hotch asked his brother-in-law changing the subject to get his mind off Gideon.

"Okay for now, but I have no idea how I'll do the more time I spend away from her or how she'll do away from me, but we decided together that we had to get used to being separated, since my job requires me to travel. She knows I love what I do, so isn't going to ask me to find another job and quit the BAU, even if the separation is going to be hard at first."

Hotch could definitely sympathize with those feelings and knew he was lucky that he and Emily worked together.

"You're so lucky that you and Emily work together and I don't begrudge you for it, I just wish that Keziah and I also worked together," Reid said in an uncanny echo of Hotch's own thoughts.

"I'll help you in anyway I can and I know that Emily will to," Hotch promised. "Having a case to concentrate on will help, although I know very well that just doing paperwork won't keep your mind from wandering to what you'd rather be doing."

"I'm sure you're right," Reid said with a rather melancholy expression. "Normally, I really look forward to catching a case, but since I know it will take me away from Keziah I'n not looking forward to it so much right now, even if I know that once I get involved I won't have time to think about anything else. Really it's the nights that are going to be the most trouble as Keziah and I haven't been apart for almost a week and I have no idea how I'll sleep without her presence. Even if she's just her sitting beside my bed with her hand on my arm or some other part of my body just her mere presence soothes me. I've certainly slept better in the last few days then I have in a very long time, just because I knew she was there and that kept the nightmares I have a lot of times at bay."

"Yes, I can definitely see how that would be a problem, even though vampire's don't sleep," Hotch said. "However, soon you won't have to worry about nightmares anymore as you will no longer be able to sleep."

"I know," Reid answered quietly. "Before that happens though whether that's a month from now, six or a year I need to talk to my siblings first to make sure they understand the situation. They won't object since they all went through the same lessons I did, but I can't go through something so major without at least talking to them about it, which I will be doing as soon as I can, now that the decision has been made."

"I would be willing to turn your siblings into vampires if that's what they wanted," Hotch offered. "It would be a major project, as you can't really create more then one or two newborn vampires at a time, well, not without a lot of help anyway. It's harder to control one that's created, then one that's born, but it could be done and I'm sure all my siblings, the ones that don't have jobs of their own would be happy to help out with just such a project."

"That's very generous of you Hotch," Spencer said surprised at the offer.

"We always try to keep family together, particularly siblings that are really close," Hotch explained. "This gives a new vampire a sense that they aren't going to lose all the people that are important to them and also makes them more manageable, because they aren't grieving for those they lost or at least missing them. A sense of continuity is important, just as important as mates are to each other. Sometimes it isn't possible to turn at least some of the person's family into vampires, because for one thing they might not have any family at all or they might not be close to them. For family members it will be their decision to go through the change as it will never be forced on them at least not by those vampires with ethics. The only time a transformation is forced on a shifter or a human or a magical is when they are a vampire's mate and only if they refuse to go through the transformation within a reasonable amount of time. Since you've agreed to go through the transformation, even if that's a year from now it won't have to be forced on you. It would have been if you hadn't agreed to go through it, because a vampire cannot lose their mate as it would mean they're death if they did."

"Believe me, I understand, Hotch," Reid said quietly. "Don't worry I have every intention on keeping my promise to go through the transformation, even if that's a year from now as you said. I know deep in my heart that Keziah and I belong together and I don't want to leave her when I get old and reach the end of my natural lifespan to face her death. Likely at the hands of one of her own family just because I refused to be transformed into a vampire. That isn't going to happen I guarantee you, as I already love your sister so much and we've only known each other for a few days, so I could no more hurt her by dying then I could quit breathing."

"That's only natural," Hotch said very pleased with what he was hearing. "The minute Emily and I laid eyes on each other I knew I was in love, even if we didn't know anything about each other at that time. Now we've known each other for almost two month's and she's due to give birth in just another week and I love her a little more every day. I will never willingly be parted from her, just as I know you will never willingly be parted from my sister."

"Definitely not," Spencer immediately agreed vehemently his eyes flashing dangerously, almost ferally with his words. "I'm not usually a violent man, but I know I could definitely be so if somebody tried to take her from me, not that she's not perfectly capable of taking care of herself."

"It's only natural to want to protect what you see as your property," Hotch told Reid calmly beyond pleased at his subordinate's reaction. It appeared that the bond was extremely strong between his sister and her mate as just the mere mention of Keziah being taken from him had caused Spencer's inner wolf to react quite violently. For the second Hotch had believed that Reid was actually going to attack him, but then the younger man had gotten a handle on himself and calmed down immediately realizing that his reactions were extreme, especially since it wasn't him that was the danger as he was Keziah's brother after all and he wanted her to be happy.

"Sorry," Reid apologized looking fearful for a moment

"I'm not going to censure you, Spencer," Hotch said calling his subordinate by his first name caused and Reid looked startled as he had never done that before, but he had done so now to prove a point. "Your reaction is only natural, because the mere mention of your mate being in danger is one of the things I know that can cause such a reaction in every vampire and likely every shifter that has found their other half. We're family now, and although I'm still your boss on the job, which I know you're aware of, I will never yell at you for being very protective of my sister, considering I know the consequences of you losing her or her losing you. Yes, usually you're pretty mild-mannered, although you certainly do your job, but shifters do have extremely strong protective instincts just as vampires do and seeing somebody you love in danger or even hearing that they are is likely to bring them to the fore. Of course, in my sister's case not much can really harm her, except fire, and although you know that intellectually it's still extremely hard to control those instincts that are part of every shifter."

Reid relaxed at his boss's words and nodded.

"Besides, I'm actually very pleased at your reaction as I had begun to think that a shifter's protective instincts weren't part of your makeup, just like your father. I know that's insulting, but if your father had really had any love for his children then his protective instincts would've been going haywire when he did what he did by abandoning you and your nine siblings. If he had still gotten a divorce from your mother he at least would've come around occasionally to check up on you and offer you advise and so forth if he truly loved his children. A shifter's protective instincts are only second to those of a vampire and neither species has words for protective, because they don't need one as it is built into their way of life. Of course, it really only applies if you've found your mate and have children by them at least if you're a vampire."

"So having children by somebody who is not your mate doesn't bring those protective instincts to the fore then," Spencer said.

"Not really, but it also depends on what kind of vampire we're talking about and whether they don't care about anybody even those that are theirs. Not only are my parents not mates they don't care a bit about their children, even though they keep having them every few years. I'm sure my mother would love to have herself permanently fixed if that was possible, but my father would never allow it, even if it was. I hate to think of any sibling of mine growing up in that environment, but there's really nothing I can do about it as my father is a very powerful vampire. Now while I could fight against him to gain custody of my brother or sister and likely even win, what's the point when they're only going to have more? To answer your question yes, a lot of vampires do care about their children even if they're not by their mate and are very protective of them, but it varies from vampire to vampire and in that particular way we are no different from humans."

"Alright," Reid said slowly. "I think I understand what you're saying. You're saying that a lot of vampires love their children even if they're not by their mate, but others, like your parents, do not and that you're no different then humans in that way."

"Precisely," Hotch said. "Our species has just as many uncaring individuals as humans or even shifters do. Though I admit that it's a much lower percentage where shifters are concerned, simply because the animal that is part of their makeup, well, for the most part tend to be very protective and more caring therefore, have far fewer criminals or uncaring individuals amongst them. Your personality as a shifter or a human, before you are changed into a vampire stays basically the same, so if you were an uncaring individual before you were changed, well, if you weren't born a vampire that usually is what you remain as. Of course, those that are born are different and depends on a lot a different factors."

"Have you ever changed anyone into a vampire before?" Reid asked curiously.

"A few times," Hotch admitted easily, "although it was always what that person wanted and was in no way forced. In a few cases, a person was dying of an incurable disease or at least it was incurable at that time, but a lot of diseases that were incurable a hundred or more years ago are now things of the past."

"Yes, that's true, the plague, typhoid, whooping cough, tuberculosis, influenza, scarlet fever just to name a few," Spencer agreed.

"So do you know how vampires are created?" asked Hotch. "If you don't know I'll be happy to talk you through the process or Keziah will, just so you're not too nervous when the time comes, although being nervous would be perfectly natural in such a situation, even if you trust the people involved."

"Well, I've seen movies where a human is turned into a vampire, but those kinds of things are always just Hollywood interpretation of the process and aren't really accurate 99% of the time and I've never really read anything that says how somebody is turned into a vampire though I, of course, know it's possible. I just don't know the mechanics of how it's done."

"Actually in this case Hollywood is pretty accurate or at least it used to be as biting the person and injecting venom into their veins used to be how it was done. Now however, the process has changed as another way had to be found, because a vampire biting a mortal to change them anymore would likely get that vampire back onto human blood, which is now against both the human and vampire law, so another way had to be found."

Spencer nodded, because that made perfect sense now that there were laws in place protecting the mortals from vampires draining them dry and Spencer know that any vampire who broke that law, would soon find themselves caught by their own species and burned to cinders as the laws were necessarily harsh for those breaking them.

"Nowadays tools have been created like a syringe that is capable of holding the venom required without melting through the cylinder, since it is coated in vampire skin. The reason this is possible is our species makes sure we skin those vampires that are caught breaking the law and are then burned to ashes for their crimes. After that the parts that are taken are used in the tools we now have. Scissors that are made up out of a vampire's fingernails for example."

"You don't need to go into any details, even though I know our job requires us to have strong stomachs, but to me hearing about what happens to another sentient being is pretty gruesome, even if I realize that you can't put a vampire in prison as they would just break out," Spencer said grimacing.

"Alright then, I won't go into detail," Hotch agreed having never seen Reid squeamish before, as he usually was one of the less squeamish people he had ever met in his long life. "In any case, a syringe is filled with a vampire's venom, which will likely be Keziah's will then be injected directly into that person's veins that is being transformed. This is done quite a few times, in both wrists, both forearms, the neck, both thighs and also both lower legs, everywhere that there is a major artery as it helps the venom spread more quickly and therefore the transformation takes less time."

Reid winced at that, as he had never liked needles and it sounded like he was going to be stuck with one almost a dozen times.

"The transformation usually takes anywhere from two days to three, especially if it's done correctly and you are injected in different areas of your body with as much venom as possible," Hotch said. "I'm sure you know that the transformation is very painful, so you're going to have to be taken someplace where no people live close by as you'll be screaming loud enough to wake the dead as the venom runs its course through your body clearing up any imperfections or preexisting medical conditions, although for some reason you'll still be able to shift once it is complete as it doesn't take away that ability."

"What about my siblings?" Reid asked trying not to think about the pain he was going to willingly go through so he and Keziah would always be together.

"We'll do the same for them, although it will likely be mine or maybe Emily's venom that will do the job as a vampire only has so much venom at one time after all and only if they agree to go through the transformation on their own free will."

"Yes, I agree with that wholeheartedly, as I would never force my siblings to go through the transformation, although I'm pretty sure my two sisters and one brother that we're born at the same time I was will be going through it along with me, since we're quadruplets and we're especially close, which is only natural I know. As for my other six siblings I'd really rather wait until the youngest at least are little older, before they go through their own transformations if they agree to do so, because while I'm 28 nearly 29 as my birthday is only a couple of months away, my siblings after that are only 26 and the youngest are only 22, nearly 23. I and my brother and sisters were born less than a year after my parents got married, while my siblings are more spaced out."

"By the way, I want you to call me Aaron at least one not working," Hotch said suddenly causing Reid to look up into his boss's eyes in surprise. "Don't look so surprised," Hotch teased Reid gently, "we are family after all, as technically, you're now my brother-in-law, and officially tying the knot doesn't really matter, not to vampires anyway."

"Thank you," Reid said with a genuine happy smile. "You're welcome to call me by my first name to. By the way about your last statement about tying the knot I've been trying to figure out a way to tell you since I sat down, but this seems as good an opportunity as any, since you brought the subject up. Keziah and I will be getting married as I proposed just before we completed our bond. Whether that happens before I'm turned into a vampire or afterwards is still to be determined, just that it will happen at some point."

"This is great news," Hotch said with a wide grin, which was a pretty unusual expression on his boss's usually serious face, however, it seemed like Aaron Hotchner did know how to lighten up, so maybe all that seriousness was just his work persona. Reid knew that Hotch's seriousness was likely a very great part of his personality, but perhaps, he slipped it on and off like a cloak when he wasn't actually working. Of course, there was Emily to consider who had probably helped to lighten up his normally serious attitude. "When did you find time to buy a ring without my sister finding out since I assume that you were together 24/7 for the last week."

"It wasn't bought," Reid explained with a half smile. "The ring I gave your sister belonged to my great-grandmother who was still alive when I was very small as I was just 4 when she passed away. She passed it on to me knowing that I was a very serious and responsible little boy and that I would take good care of it. Some of the last words she ever spoke to me were: I know you'll take good care of this as it's a family heirloom to be passed to the oldest son. Since I only had daughters I'm passing it on to you. You are only to give this ring to the person who is your mate if ever meet them and if you never do, but decide to get married you are to pass it onto your oldest son. There was quite a bit more, but that's the gist of it. In any case, I was planning to pass it on to one of my brothers if they ever met their mates, as I never figured I would meet mine and if they didn't, but any of my brothers or sisters had children I was going to pass it on to one of their sons. In any case, I kept it carefully protected for all these years and I gave it to Keziah when I proposed. Apparently from what my great-grandmother told me he's been are family for generations and is passed down always to the oldest son or grandson."

"That is such a moving story," Hotch stated appreciatively. "How your great-grandmother could be such a nice person and her grandson, your father turn into such a louse is beyond me. We both know it happens sometimes, but your great-grandmother seems to strong willed to produce a daughter who was such a weakling, that in turn produced your father. I don't mean physically, but mentally unless it comes from your grandfather or one of your grandparents grandson-in-laws, since your great-grandmother only had girls."

"I really don't know as my great-grandfather died before I was born," Reid said with a shrug, "but I do know that my great-grandmother was a tough, but compassionate and generous old lady, with a heart of gold. One only wishes that she had passed that toughness, compassion, generosity and heart of gold down to her grandson, but unfortunately, it didn't work out that way."

"So when are you going to tell the rest of the team about the fact that you proposed to Keziah?" Hotch asked.

"I'm certainly not going to announce it in the bullpen and have Strauss find out sooner than I would like," Reid said. "I'll do it probably when we're flying somewhere when we have privacy. I'm not saying that Strauss won't eventually find out, but I'd still like to keep it from her for as long as possible, as I don't need her to give me a hard time. I know what you and Emily had to go through when she found out about three weeks into your relationship when Emily really started to show her pregnancy, even though there're rules in place that allow two people who are in a relationship, particularly mates to work together. Still, she caused a big stink about it, letting her displeasure be known and I'd rather avoid that if at all possible. Once she discovers that I'm going to be related to you due to me being mates with your sister, I expect her to give me just as much trouble as she did you and Emily. I suspect only the fact that Keziah will be well out of it since she doesn't work for the FBI will make it less of a stink. I know she can't really do anything, especially since your sister isn't a member of our unit or the bureau, as she has a totally different profession, but that doesn't mean that she's going to be happy about it and we both know what happens when she's unhappy with someone on the team, which happens on a fairly regular basis."

"She buries us under busywork, denies us our days off, although she can't do that on the weekends, because of government regulations," Hotch said and Reid nodded.

"In other words, she does everything she can make our lives as difficult and hellish as possible, although even she can't make us work seven days a week. I think she figures that if she keeps us busy that all relationships will break up, but then again she is human and she doesn't really understand about bonds and how that's not going to happen. If that happens Keziah and I will get through it, just as you and Emily did, even though we won't like it, as it lets us spend even less time together then normal. She can only keep us busy for so many hours of the day, due to government regulations and once I'm a vampire I won't need to sleep, so Keziah and I can spend that time together."

"She'll probably try to deny you coming back to the team once you get a handle on your bloodlust," Hotch said thinking about the implications of that. "She won't succeed since there are rules in place to allow it, but she'll likely try all the same. Of course, once our rate of solving cases starts to spiral downwards due to the fact that you're absent, Strauss won't have a leg to stand on. I'll be more than happy to tell the higher-ups exactly why our percentage has gone down and so will everyone else and you'll be back here so fast that Strauss's head will probably spin."

"You know if Strauss does try that she's likely to get at least a black mark on her record if not fired or at least demoted and transferred," Spencer said. "Believe me, when I say wouldn't miss her at all."

"And neither would anybody else who has had the displeasure of having her as their boss. as she's not exactly well liked," Hotch smirked.

"Now there's probably the understatement of the century," Spencer said with a smile of his own.

~~~Unexpected Bonds~~~


	10. Chapter 10

Part 10

"Congratulations, Spence," JJ said rising from her seat across from him and giving him a gentle hug.

The team was indeed flying to yet another city on the same day of Reid's return, as Reid had already known was likely to happen and so he had warned Keziah about it before he'd left that morning. Still, Reid had made sure to text Keziah the details so she would know that he wouldn't be home at the end of the day and she had immediately texted back that she would go look for a condo while he was gone.

"Thanks JJ," Reid said smiling, as he and Hotch had been right about her acceptance of the situation.

"I'm happy for you two," Morgan told his friend slapping him on the back in a gesture of friendly affection. "I can already tell that Hotch's sister has been good for you and you only met less than a week ago."

"Thanks Morgan," Reid said accepting the gesture for what it was.

"Aren't you moving just a little fast," asked Gideon and immediately everyone looked at him as if he was nuts, except for Hotch who glared at him with a warning in his dark brown eyes.

"Haven't we already had this conversation?" asked Hotch his voice low and menacing. "You remember the one about letting Spencer live his life? The one about bonds? Why should he wait and make himself miserable just to meet your criteria? All the bond really means is that you have met your match and you'll only be miserable without them and even if you spent the rest of your life searching the world you'd never find another that was a perfect match for you?"

"Whoah protective much?" JJ questioned in amazement.

"Well, Spencer is now technically my brother-in-law and I will not have the man he considers his mentor upset him just because he doesn't understand about bonds, since the human race doesn't have such a thing. Come to think of it, JJ was the first to congratulate him and she is also human and doesn't really understand about bonds either, but sees that her friend and teammate is happy and that is enough for her," Hotch said.

"Thank you, Aaron, but I can fight my own battles," Reid said. "It doesn't really matter what Gideon thinks."

"Reid, you don't really mean that," Gideon protested.

"Yes, I do," Reid told his mentor and friend bluntly, causing everyone one on the team, except Hotch to blink in surprise. Hotch for his part simply smirked. "Keziah is part of me now, as she filled a place in my heart that I didn't even know was missing until we had met. As Aaron said it doesn't matter how long we've known each other if you try to come between us I know which I will choose as it really is no contest, none at all. I already miss Keziah desperately and you aren't helping the situation with your attitude. Would it hurt me to lose your friendship, a friendship that has meant so much to me? Of course, it would, but it would hurt a lot less then losing Keziah, as that just wouldn't hurt it would literally destroy me. Accept the situation or not and when you have decided let me know, otherwise don't talk to me, except about work as I'm not the mood to put up with your attitude. I would think you would want me to be happy, instead of miserable."

Reid turned away from Gideon ignoring him completely.

"Wow, Reid! I've never seen you so commanding, not in the over five years I've known you," Morgan said staring at his friend in something akin to awe, as he had just throughly told off one of the leaders of the BAU, someone who was a close friend and father figure. It wasn't that Gideon hadn't deserved it considering he had no reason to object to the relationship between Reid and Hotch's sister, none at all, since Reid was a grown man and not some kid that needed to be told what to do. In a way he could understand it for not only was Gideon old fashioned he was also human and really didn't understand about the bonds that could form between two vampires, two shifters, or a human and a shifter or a vampire and a shifter, not deep in his heart.

"Everybody has their limit, Morgan and I'm trying to avoid having an argument with Gideon about it at a later date, trying to nip trouble in the bud in other words. You've never seen me this commanding before as you put it, because I never needed to be. You have to remember that I'm the oldest of 10 siblings. After my father left, I had to take charge and look after all my younger ones, even if my brother and two sisters helped me. I haven't had any reason to let that part of me out in the last five almost six years. You know I'm usually a pretty easygoing guy, but I will not have the best thing in my life ruined by a stubborn, set in his ways man who can't see that I'm far happier with Keziah in my life then without her in it."

"I am sitting right here you know," Gideon said finally, sounding annoyed.

"Good, then maybe you'll take my words to heart because if it comes down to a choice between Keziah and our friendship I know which one I will choose, in a heartbeat. Make of that what you will," Reid said.

Reid immediately went back to ignoring his mentor.

Gideon said nothing, because deep down he knew everything that had been said to him was right and he had no right to be against his protégé's relationship. He wasn't sure why he was, except that it had been very sudden and that made him suspicious. It was more the timing then anything else that made him suspicious as he didn't normally believe in coincidences. He didn't say anything else though, as he knew Hotch was too honest to set one of his team up and get them into a bad situation or lead him like a lamb to the slaughter as vampire or not, Aaron Hotchner was one of the most honest and forthright individuals he had ever met. Gideon knew realistically that Hotch's sister had only showed up to see her brother and to get to know Emily his mate. Besides, if Keziah's shocked look the first time she had laid eyes on Reid was any indication she had no more expected to find her mate then Reid had, so it seemed in this case it was indeed pure coincidence.

"Emily will be very happy for you too and so will Garcia when they find out," JJ said with a smile.

"Emily knows as I ran into her first and no I didn't tell her, but she is a vampire and she'd know all the signs," Reid said with a smile. "As for Garcia I know she will be happy for me and I plan on telling her as soon as we return as I didn't have a chance to before we caught this case."

"She'll be upset that she's the last to know," Morgan chuckled.

"Probably, but I can't really help that we caught a case, before I had a chance to tell her," Reid shrugged. "I suppose I could've done it before we left, but I was too busy texting Keziah to let her know I wouldn't be home."

"So Hotch how is Emily really doing?" JJ asked her boss but also her friend.

"She's fine, but since she's due in a week we just decided that it was better if she stayed back at Quantico. Her doctor's there for one thing and Keziah has promised to keep a very close eye on her and get her to the hospital when it was time."

"It's a good thing you're sister decided to come into town now, isn't it?" Gideon said his tone of voice almost accusatory.

"If she hadn't then I have many friends that would have gotten her to the hospital, including Garcia," Hotch said without missing a beat. "It just happened to work out like it did, as I certainly wasn't expecting for my sister to just show up out of the blue without at least warning me she was coming, but then Keziah has always done exactly what she wanted, any time she wanted and has a stubborn streak a mile wide."

"I for one am very happy she just showed up out of the blue," Reid said, his golden brown eyes sparkling.

"Of course, you are," Morgan teased him. "I certainly would have been if such a gorgeous woman was my mate."

"I won't deny that she is gorgeous, but that's just an added bonus," Reid said. "In my mind that fact that she makes me laugh, which I've never done very much of, not even as a child. The fact that she doesn't make me nervous like so many women do. Or the fact that we can talk about anything and she understands what I'm saying without me having to find a way to phrase it layman's terms. So many people don't understand what I'm talking about unless I break it down into concepts they can understand, is far more important."

Not to mention that the lovemaking is spectacular, Reid added in his thoughts, but didn't say so out loud.

Hotch smirked at him briefly, seeming to know what he was thinking and Reid nearly blushed, but managed not to, as he didn't want Morgan to see it and suss out the reason for it, as he would be teased unmercifully by the big black man if that happened.

The last of Gideon's doubts crumbled at that. No matter how fast the relationship had happened it was helping the young man he considered a son come out of his shell. It was true that their relationship was rather sudden, but then so had Hotch's and Emily, so apparently this mate bond was a powerful force. Reid was certainly happier then he had ever seen him and Gideon knew that Hotch's sister Keziah was responsible for that happiness, so how could he object? Gideon well knew that Reid wouldn't have lasted much longer at the BAU if he didn't learn how to truly relax and let go, forget about all the horrors he had seen instead of his life being an unending round of work. Of learning new facts and trivia to help the team solve cases, as he would burn out much sooner without a personal life. A life that was something more then a unending round of work in one form or another. He needed a real life and it looked like he had finally found it.

"Looks aren't everything," JJ agreed.

"You do have a point," Morgan conceded, "as I've known some gorgeous woman who are as dumb as stumps."

"That's not very nice, Morgan," JJ chided.

"Doesn't make it any less true," Morgan shot back totally unrepentant.

"I think JJ means that it isn't polite to say so, Morgan," Gideon said entering the conversation.

"I didn't express that opinion to the ladies in question and I'm not giving you any names, I'm just telling that I've known both women or men for that matter that didn't have the intelligence or sense that god gave a gnat," Morgan defended himself.

"You're missing the point, Morgan," Hotch told him with a shake of his head.

"So I'm assuming that at some point you're going to become a vampire," Gideon mentioned.

"Yes," Spencer agreed. "The date hasn't been set yet, but I'm going to have to take a rather lengthy leave of absence. However, I have every intention of returning to the BAU afterwards."

"Is that even possible?" Morgan asked in astonishment. "Taking say a year off and then returning?"

"It's possible," Hotch promised everyone. "It's happened before that vampires have found their mates in other FBI agents who weren't vampires themselves and sometimes they were even agents themselves, so something had to be done. If Strauss tries to cause trouble I'll just take it to the higher-ups and I know the whole team will back me up on that. There is a precedent for it, even if it's only happened a dozen times in the century or so that the FBI has been in existence and that's all that matters."

"Strauss can try, but if we take the higher-ups then she won't succeed," JJ said wanting reassurance.

"She won't," Hotch promised, "because once the director above Strauss sees how much our percentage of solving cases drops because Reid isn't there, well they'll be very eager for him to return. Of course, as I said there's also a precedent for it as well, so really Strauss won't have a leg to stand on."

"I'll miss you while you're gone, pretty boy," Morgan told his brother and all the blood.

"We'll keep in touch," Spencer promised, "but I do need at least a six months to a year away to get control of my bloodlust and also several other factors are involved. You don't need to worry about it right now, as it hasn't been decided when my transformation is going to take place, just that it will. It probably won't be for at least six months or so though so let's just forget about it until then."

"So long as you come back," JJ mock scolded her friend.

"I have no intention of leaving the BAU or my friends on a permanent basis," Reid promised. "It would take an extraordinary set of circumstances to prevent me from returning to a job I love and also to people I consider family."

Gideon wasn't very happy, with his protégé's upcoming transformation, but he knew that it was going to happen whether or not Reid agreed to it, as he knew that vampires were nearly immortal and that they would find a way to meet their deaths if anything happened to their mates. Besides, Reid could also feel the bond that he had with Hotch's sister so for that reason alone he would agree to be transformed into a vampire.

"Perhaps, I can help you out over the internet," Reid suggested. "I'm sure Garcia can help you set something like that up and there are programs that will allow you to talk to me and see me at the same time."

"Skype, comes to mind," JJ suggested. "It's a program that allows you to talk over the computer, kind of like a telephone except you can see who you're talking to."

"That's a very good suggestion," Morgan approved.

"We'll see how it goes, but I won't promise," Reid said. "They're just too many unknown factors involved to predict exactly how I'll take to being a vampire. I might take to it very easily, but then again I might not, there's no way to know until it actually occurs. I'll have to get control of my strength so I don't crush everything I touch even if it's an accident. In many ways vampires that are born have it much easier as they don't come into the full strength until they're fully grown and therefore, have it easier in learning how to control it."

"Everybody who's ever been made a vampire instead of being born into it is different," Hotch added, "so there is no way of knowing how Reid will take to being transformed."

"Well, at least let us know how you're doing even if that's through Keziah, as I for one will worry less," JJ requested.

"I will," Reid promised.

~~~Unexpected Bonds~~~

"Point 1: You're saying that you've met your mate and she just happens to be your boss's younger sister," Sabrina began counting off points on her fingers, "and that this Aaron Hotchner you've told us so much about is willing to change all of us into vampires. Point 2: Whenever someone is changed into a vampire they try to do the same with at least a few of somebody's siblings or other family so that they won't feel regret or remorse for abandoning the people they love and so that they have a sense of family, belonging and continuity. Point 3: Sometimes this is impossible as that person has no other family or not one they are close to. Point 4: If we decide against this it will not be forced upon us and it is our choice. Is that a pretty accurate summary so far?"

"Pretty much," Spencer agreed calmly. "I know this is shocking news, I certainly didn't expect to find my mate in my boss's younger sister and believe me, when I tell you it shocked the bloody hell out of me. However, there is no way I could deny the connection that is between us, as not only would that make both Keziah and me miserable, Hotch would kick my ass."

All nine of Spencer's younger siblings were present and sniggered at their brother's choice of words for normally he would never use such foul language.

"In any case, you can say no and it would upset me, but I wouldn't be able to blame you for it. I would promise to keep in contact until each one of you died and then keep in contact with your descendents, since they would still be my family. All I know for sure is that I am going to go through the transformation, because I love Keziah so much and yes, I'm aware that we've only known each other for a very short amount of time, but that doesn't change the fact that I do. Keziah and I have already completed the bond that is between us and we all know what it takes to do that, so I could no more leave her then I could stop breathing."

"What about our jobs though?" asked Oliver, Spencer's brother who was also the same age as he was and who was also a surgeon.

"You can always get other jobs, but as for me there's apparently a precedent and I'll be able to go back to the BAU, although I am aware that not many jobs would allow you to take a six month to a year off and then go back."

"That's not really fair," Oliver complained.

"I never said it was fair, Ollie," Spencer told his brother who had his dark brown hair, but his mother's blue eyes. "I for one am glad that there is such a precedent in place, because I do love my job, even if I don't always like the paperwork involved. However, I've already experienced being separated from Keziah and that wasn't very fun, although I've been told that the intensity of the bond between us will start to die down in a few years to where we won't miss each other quite so much. However, a vampire's emotions, especially a newborn's are at least five times as strong as a shifter's or humans or a magical's, so it will take me awhile to get a handle on having such strong emotions as well as other things. You don't have to make the decision right this minute, as it's going to be awhile before I actually go through the transformation and also Hotch said that it's more difficult handle to many newborn vampires at once so we'll likely just be me and maybe Ollie, Sabrina and Perdita and then once we get a handle on the fact that we're vampires it'll then be Marla's Raina's and Carol's turn."

"And what about us?" Timothy asked with a raised eyebrow.

"I'd prefer the three of you to be a few years older before you go through it like at least the same age of Marla, Raina and Carol are right now, although really I would like you to wait until all of you reach at least 30."

"Why?" asked Marla.

"Because the age you are now is the age you will remain for the rest of your existences," Spencer explained. "I would just prefer for you to look a little older and to gain some more experience with life before you are changed, although it is your decision, since you're not pups too young to make their own decisions."

"Well, it'll probably be at least a year before I, Marla and Carol are changed," Raina pointed out. "Depending on when you, Ollie, Sabrina and Perdita go through your own transformations it'll be at least a year after that, so we'll be 27 to 28. If Tim, Xavier and Bea don't go through it for a year after we do well, there'll be at least 26 or so."

"And that's only if we all decide to do it," Perdita said logically. "You did after all say it was our decision."

"I did," Spencer agreed. "We're just discussing possibilities right now and no definite decisions need to be made right this minute. I wanted to tell you about the fact that I have found my mate and that I am going to be changed into a vampire at some point. I also wanted to give you an option to join me, but yes, it's still your decision. You have to consider the fact that vampires are nearly immortal, which means that you will be too if you decide to go through with this. Think about what eternity really means and since I have found my mate I'm actually looking forward to it."

"This could be a way to get back at our father," Xavier suggested, with a gleam in his eyes as he thought about that. "You know what he thinks of vampires in general and how prejudiced he is against the species. If all of his children or even just some of them were transformed from shifters to a species that he considered creatures, ones that should be eliminated permanently that would be a suitable revenge. After all Vince and his wife and their children taught us really what we need to know about shifters and other species in general and we definitely don't share the same opinion as our father."

The other nine siblings in the room considered that, but finally Spencer said firmly. "I don't want you to do this just to get revenge on our father, because we all know that he's a useless waste of space, as he used to call us at least when it comes to maintaining relationships and only because he's not willing to put in the work required."

"He is the successful attorney," Raina pointed out.

"Yes, he is, but there is a difference in being successful at your job and being successful in your personal life," Spencer told his siblings. "Father works hard at his job so maybe he feels like he didn't need to do the same when it came to his marriage, but both of them take work in order to be successful at them and he wasn't willing to put in the hours or effort in to be successful at the second. For example just because Keziah and I are mates does not mean that neither one of us is going to have to put in the effort required in order to maintain a healthy relationship. We might be made to be together, but if we don't want to go stagnate we need to retain the romance, the spark if you will. We'll never break up that's true and always love each other, but that doesn't mean you stop doing things for your partner taking them out to dinner for example, well, if they're not a vampire that is," Spencer corrected.

"Buying them flowers, planning vacations together they are a lot of ways to show you care," Carol said.

"Yes, they are," Spencer agreed, "and we all have to admit that I'm not very good at that kind of thing, but then I've never had any practice, so I plan on learning, because I never want Keziah to think that I'm taking her for granted, as I'm going to be gone enough as it is with my job. One day I'll decide to retire, and maybe we can travel the world together, but that's decades away at the very least."

"So do you actually plan on tying the knot or not?" asked Beatrix.

"Yes, we are going to actually get married," Spencer said, "although the date has yet to be determined. I proposed within a few days of knowing her, as I didn't see point of procrastinating since it's not like I had to figure out if I was in love or not because I already knew I was."

"You gave her great-grandmother's ring," Perdita said with certainty.

"I did indeed," Spencer said with a rather goofy grin a rather unusual expression on their usually serious brother's face.

"Oh, our brother's really in love," Oliver wisecracked.

"That's been obvious ever since we got here," Carol told her older brother. "Spencer is far to sensible to even consider doing what he's talking about unless he knows he's in love. Of course, the fact that the bond has activated helps with that, so why humans or magicals don't have the same thing that both vampires and shifters do is beyond me. I for one am very happy for him as he helped raise all of us, even if he had help with that task and if anyone deserves some happiness it's him."

"I definitely agree with that," Xavier said immediately. "You looked out for us, even when you had your own problems and your own studies. I know that Spence was really super intelligent and read extraordinarily fast and if he hadn't he never could've kept up with all his homework as looking after all your younger siblings took a lot of time and I, of course, include Ollie, Sabrina and Perdita in that, since they helped. Still, it was a lot for four 10 year olds to take on and I as well as others know that."

"We did have the help of the few shifter families that lived in our neighborhood as well, especially Vince and his wife and his children," Sabrina said reminiscently.

"Yes, they really helped us out a lot," Spencer admitted, "and I really didn't want to accept anybody's help even if I know we needed it in order to survive."

"Mom, always told us that we should never be too proud to ask for help when we needed it," Carol reminded her brother.

"Or to proud to accept help when it was offered so long as it was from somebody we knew and trusted," Oliver remembered.

"The other shifters are the ones that forced father to leave us money so we could support ourselves," Sabrina said. "I mean after all father made plenty, so it's not like he was poor or anything."

"He was going to leave us without any money at all and would have if the shifters in our neighborhood hadn't stepped in," Oliver said his eyes sparking with fury, as he still got mad every time the subject was brought up and none of his other siblings could blame him.

"We weren't rich or anything, but we made it through, even if we had to watch our pennies," said Carol.

"He shouldn't have had to be forced to support his own children, as he should've been paying child support from the minute he divorced mom, without having to be badgered into it," Spencer said his anger clear. "He expected us to just disappear out of his life and perhaps, die so that his conscience would be clear. I mean he didn't even bother to take a couple of his children with him now that I'm not grateful for that, but it sure would have made the constraints we were forced to a little better at least moneywise. You don't just leave 10 children without any financial support, especially when the mother is incapable of working or taking care of them and is sick to boot. I'll never forgive him for what he did to all of you, but that doesn't mean that we let him control us by getting revenge on him. The best way to get back at him is to continue to live our lives and he'll get his when he dies and he has to face the big guy upstairs."

"So you said numerous times in the past," Xavier said not looking like he agreed, but then he was the most sensitive out of all the Reid children and their father leaving had hurt him deeply.

"If you had gone off looking for revenge you just would have ended up in very serious trouble," Spencer told his younger brother gently. "I know what he did hurt all of us, but you were hurt the worst. However, if you had gone haring off either you would have ended up dead or at least in prison as those were the two most likely possibilities and why give him the satisfaction? If you had succeeded in killing him, as angry as you are and as much as you hate him for what he did you would have hated yourself and wished that you had held your temper. Trust me, killing someone does something to you, even if it's justified and killing father would be in no way justified, but revenge. It would have given you nightmares at the very least, and the cops would have likely caught you and you would have ended up in prison something you don't want trust me."

"How do you know?" Xavier argued.

"Because at the BAU we interview killers and other criminals to add to our knowledge to what we already know," Spencer explained calmly. "When we do this, we of course, have to go to the prison that they are at to do the do the interview and all of them are all places that you wouldn't want to end up. I wouldn't be surprised if you either emerged from there a very changed man, or you killed yourself before you were released, as that does happen quite frequently, particularly to shifters who don't like being caged. As bad as our lives were after father left they were still infinitely better than ending up in a place like that. It's also possible that you would've been used by some other inmate as a boy toy, and trust me that is not a fate you want for yourself as I've interviewed plenty of people who get their jollies from breaking other inmates and you're certainly handsome enough, so you would definitely be a target. Also you wouldn't be able to transform in prison and if you did you would be put in solitary and that would be even worse."

"And there would be no guarantee that there would be any other shifters also in the same prison," Oliver realized.

"That's true enough or at least not in the same cellblock," Spencer agreed. "It's usually shifters that have the highest suicide rate in places like that, as they need the freedom to transform and feel the wind in their fur and to be able run beneath the trees."

"Alright, you've made your point," Xavier said shuddering. "I won't go give father what I believe he deserves, because I definitely don't want to end up in prison if it's even half as bad as you indicate."

"It's worse, trust me on that, as I've been in enough of them interviewing serial killers and even for a case once or twice," Spencer told his younger brother. "I had a hard enough time being in a place like that and it was never for more than a few hours and there's no way I could take months, a year or even more."

"So when do we get to meet this Keziah, that you've been raving about?" Perdita asked her brother changing the subject.

"As soon as you like as she's just waiting for me to call and then she'll be over here to meet all of you. She's waiting at my apartment, but it's much too small for so many people to be comfortable and we're looking for another place we can live together."

"Wow! You've changed big brother," Carol told Spencer. "I've never seen you so relaxed, happy and looking towards the future."

"Being in love will do that to you," Sabrina teased Spencer, who simply grinned a her.

Spencer didn't bother to deny it, only said, "I'll call her and she'll be here in just a few minutes."

"Go ahead, I for one am looking forward to meeting this lady who has managed to change you so much and in such a short amount of time to," Timothy said.

Spencer rose from where he was sitting and walked to the other side of the room pushing a series of button on his phone as he went.

"Spence has changed so much," Timothy mentioned as he watched their brother to talk softly to someone.

"I think it's more that we're seeing what Spence could have been like if father had been more supportive and hadn't left," Perdita said. "He took the responsibility of looking after all of us very seriously at a young age and while we helped him out that kind of responsibility can still change a person. I've always thought that he just needed a serious relationship to get him to lighten up some, but he's still basically the same Spence. Really it's just the part that has been buried, since father left that is starting to a emerge again, the more lighthearted side of his personality. Nobody except me, Oliver and Sabrina remember what he was like before the pivotal event that changed all of us as the rest of you were much too young particularly you Tim, Bea and Xavier, as you were barely months old when he left."

"He was always a serious little boy," Sabrina remembered.

"But he also knew how to lighten up and have fun," Oliver said and the two older siblings nodded in agreement.

"I always believed that he just needed something or someone to truly lighten him up instead him being, so serious all the time, people to accept him for who he was instead of picking on him, just because of his intelligence or his awkwardness in social situations," Carol said.

"Is it any wonder since he never had a chance to really socialize with kids his age as they never accepted him and we all know how mean-spirited kids can be to someone they consider different," Sabrina said.

"It didn't help that all of us were ahead of our peers by great deal. particularly Spence," Oliver said. "All of are extremely intelligent, but he's the one that took the worst of the bullying."

"I think he liked it that way as it protected the rest of us," Raina said.

"That would be just like Spence," Timothy admitted. "He'd want to protect the people he loved from being bullied and picked on if at all possible."

"Don't worry about him so much, Tim," Raina told her brother. "Personally, I think this is a very good thing and exactly what he needs. I always felt that he needed to get some fun in his life instead of him working all the time."

Tim nodded and kept his reservations to himself, because all the others seemed to agree, but then he wasn't the family worrier for nothing.

~~~Unexpected Bonds~~~


	11. Chapter 11

Part 11

Three months later

"Welcome back to the BAU, Dave," Hotch told his own mentor cordially.

"Thank you, Aaron," Rossi said with a smile.

David Rossi was double his age, but really looked no older than him and that was about 30 or 35. His hair and beard were short and black, he had dark brown eyes and was several inches shorter than Hotch's. "It's good to be back."

"I can certainly understand that point of view," Hotch said. "I mean we're vampires and we live forever unless we are murdered by fire. The older you get the harder it is to keep busy."

"I definitely agree with that statement," Rossi said immediately. "I came because I heard you need help because Gideon left. I've heard Erin's version of what she thinks of the team why don't you tell me yours?"

"What exactly did Strauss tell you?" asked Hotch his face expressionless.

"Just that she thought the BAU was going to hell in a handbasket and that it had become a real couple's club. She's hoping I can straighten everything out."

"She would," Hotch snorted. "She only told you part of the truth as I'm sure you know."

"So what is the full truth?" Rossi asked looking genuinely interested, as he hadn't believed Erin at all considering he knew her very well from decades ago and she could be extremely vindictive and could hold a grudge until the day she died. Also the fact that she hated Aaron Hotchner wasn't exactly a secret and Dave had known this even before he left the BAU a decade ago, so he took her words with a pound of salt as he was sure it couldn't be as bad as she was describing it. If Erin really believed that he was going to fall for her brand of bullshit then she wasn't as intelligent, as he had always believed her to be. He was a vampire and was many centuries Erin's senior, and he had traveled the world and learned a great deal in that amount of time, so he couldn't be easily fooled. He had known that Strauss had an agenda by trying to paint the BAU as going down the drain due to its current members particularly Aaron, even though he didn't believe that for a second.

"The truth is somewhere in the middle," Hotch said. "Yes, I have found my mate and she works with our team, her name is Emily Prentiss by the way. However, what Strauss doesn't like is she has found no reason to censor us or a reason to write us up. Both Emily and I are totally professional when we're actually working, so she has no legitimate reason to get one of us transferred or fired or at least give us a black mark on our records."

"I figured it was something like that," Rossi admitted. "You're too much of a professional to let a relationship interfere with the job at hand."

"Which is why Strauss tried to paint the team as a couples club," Hotch said cynically. "She was trying to convince the director that we shouldn't be on the same team because we were mates, but the director wasn't buying it, because he hasn't heard one complaint other than from Strauss of course. Emily and I always act totally professionally when we are working and when we're on our time it's a totally different matter."

"Erin, also mentioned something about Dr. Spencer Reid being in a relationship as well and that the woman in question is your sister. She seems to find that highly suspicious," Rossi said with an ironic smile.

"Why am I not surprised?" Hotch snorted his tone of voice deeply disgusted. "What Strauss said is true to an extent anyway. My sister Keziah came by one day to see me and to meet Emily, out of the blue I might add and the minute they set eyes on each other they knew. However, what Strauss didn't tell you, is that Keziah doesn't work with the BAU or even the bureau. The two of them are actually living together in a condo that they're renting as Reid's place was much too small for two people."

"So the two are mates then?" Rossi asked already knowing the answer.

"Yes, they are, but Reid also felt the bond and no he's not a vampire, but he is a shifter, a wolf shifter to be precise and he to felt the connection he had with my sister."

"So I'm assuming he's going to be going to the transformation at some point?" asked Rossi.

"Yes, probably sometime in the next six months," Hotch confirmed. "He's already agreed to it, as he's not to going to be parted from my sister without a fight and I can't really blame him, as I'm not about to be parted from Emily either, not even if someone tries to force the issue. However, no matter how much he struggles on concentrating and not letting his mind wander for the last few months because he misses Keziah so much he's still managed to do his job and Strauss has no right to complain, although that doesn't mean she hasn't tried. Once you get to know him you'll see that normally he has no trouble concentrating on what he's doing, but the bond with my sister is still only a few months old, so it's going to be harder for him for awhile."

"And once he's turned into a vampire it'll be even harder sense a vampire's emotions are magnified quite a bit, especially a newborns, or at least that's what I've been told," Rossi agreed.

"Yes, that's what I've been told as well, although I've never had a chance to experience it for myself, because Emily was already a vampire when she and I met and was born one just like you and I were," Hotch said. "In any case, I believe you'll get along with the team just fine as Gideon I were always really careful about who we hired. Really, we don't only work together, we're friends outside the job, a family really and now Reid really is related to me through my sister."

"Well, you're right I don't see why Erin is complaining so long as there are no complaints that you let your personal lives interfere with your professionalism," Rossi said.

"You'll soon see for yourself that that's not the case," Hotch said. "You know me well enough to know that I'm a professional and I would never let my personal life interfere with my job and neither would Reid or Emily for that matter."

"So I heard a certain rumor that you had triplets just recently," Rossi mentioned.

"Emily and I did," Hotch admitted with a smile that reached all the way to his eyes, "We expected twins, but not triplets. It's two boys and a girl in case you're wondering."

"I thought you and Emily had just met?" Rossi asked knowing that vampires didn't get pregnant too easily. Of course, when the two were mates it was an entirely different matter and they had sex as often as possible. What this would likely mean was that a vampire female would get pregnant much more frequently and more easily, but still, that Hotch's mate had gotten pregnant so easily was amazing.

"We did, just a few months ago actually. I know what you're thinking and that's vampires aren't usually so fertile and mostly that's true, although it does vary some from vampire to vampire of course," Hotch said. "However, the piece of information you're missing is that Emily isn't a full vampire she's half magical and she appears to be more fertile then a full one is. We had no intention of getting pregnant quite so soon, but it happened during the weekend we first mated. Emily has had her uterus removed since then and in fact had it done right after her c-section, so she shouldn't be able to get pregnant again for at least a few years."

"Yes, I see how that could happen," Rossi said slowly, as he digested the information. "They really aren't to many half vampires around, but there're are a few."

"And Emily just happens to be one of them, one with magical powers no less," Hotch added his pride in his mate shining through.

"So will Reid be coming back to the BAU after his transformation?" asked Rossi. "I want to know if I need to put in the effort to get to know him, but if he's going to be gone permanently there is no point."

"He is planning to come back," Hotch said. "His work was his life before he met Keziah and he did little else except work, eat and sleep. Unlike the rest of the team he didn't use to have any outside interests and I feared he would burn out, which would be a sad day for the BAU because he'd be very hard to replace, if not impossible."

"What's so special about this guy?" Rossi asked genuinely curious.

"Oh, Reid is a very special young man," Hotch smiled. "He's a genuine genius with a IQ of 187 and an eidetic memory. Yes, I realize that his memory will be like that once he's turned, but that type of memory is pretty rare among mortals and none of us knew that his mate would be a vampire, much less my sister, as it's not like you can predict those kind of things. He went to college at just 13, along with his three siblings who are the same age and who are also super intelligent, which comes from the mother I believe. He came away with five different degrees and I know he's working on another in his spare time. The father left the family when the oldest four were ten and was going to leave them without any funds except the shifters in the neighborhood forced him to pay child support. Reid had to grow up fast, as he had a sick mother to look after and although his siblings helped it was still a lot of responsibility for him and his three siblings to take on and they also had to look after their younger brothers and sisters."

"So he was very responsible from an early age," Rossi summarized.

"Oh, he was the most responsible, even before the father left, because the father was...well...he wasn't much of one, more neglectful than anything else, even from the time that the oldest were very small. However, unlike a lot of geniuses are he isn't arrogant with it and in fact he's one of the nicest guys you'll ever meet, someone who will bend over backwards to help you, but doesn't make friends easily, mostly because he's innately shy. Part of that is due to his early childhood training, but also because of the fact that most people don't understand him when he talks, especially when he gets all technical. The shifters in the neighborhood helped out very subtly, because Reid was really too proud to accept help openly, even though he knew the neighborhood shifters particularly the wolf shifter family that lived close by would be more than willing to help support him and his siblings. It was the father Vince that taught the Reid children all they needed to know about shifters in general and wolf shifters in particular, as unlike William Reid, Vince Clayborne took his responsibilities seriously. In any case, Strauss would rather have us miserable or at least working all the time, instead of in happy relationships with work still being important, but not all-consuming and our personal lives are a big part of why that is."

"Yes, that sounds like Erin as she can be extremely vindictive," Rossi admitted slowly. "If you get on her bad side well you stay on it or at least it would take something extraordinary to get back on her good side."

"That's the truth," Hotch snorted his contempt for Strauss obvious.

"Most relationships don't last very long when you have a job like the team does where you are gone so much of the time. A lot of people have trouble trusting their boyfriend or girlfriend or spouse that they'll be loyal to them while they're out of town for work, but with mates its different and the relationship isn't going to break up just because you're so busy all the time," Rossi continued.

"Which is what has Strauss trying to paint us as a couples club, as she's trying to give us a bad reputation, even through the statistics for solving cases, is up in the 90s, and in which Reid is a massive part of doesn't bear Strauss's complaints out. Yes, it's hard to maintain a personal life outside the job, but that doesn't mean it is impossible and Strauss is trying to ruin a good thing. Some of the members need way to let off steam, after a particularly tough case not me or Emily so much, since vampires are natural predators and we don't sleep and therefore, can't have nightmares, but for the rest of them definitely. Having someone waiting for you to come home to, is going to make it easier for Reid in particular, since Keziah knows how to get him to relax. Really it was Reid I worried about the most, because unlike the rest of the unit he didn't have any life outside the job, as he isn't the type to hang around in bars like Morgan is and he definitely didn't used to have any kind of social life."

"A lot of those problems will be solved once he's turned into a vampire," Rossi said and Hotch nodded in agreement.

"True enough, but you really don't have any idea when you're going to meet your mate or even if you ever will and if he hadn't met Keziah, well, he likely would've burned out in another few years, but now you're right that's not likely to happen now and he'll retire when he's good and ready, not because he can no longer take seeing some of the things that we see every day."

His old protégé did have a point, Dave admitted.

"You'll fit right in with the team," Hotch promised. "I think you'll realize that we work so smoothly together, without letting our egos get in the way, because we're friends and family outside the job and not just workmates."

"I'm looking forward to it, as I admit I was getting a bit bored and I've only been gone something like 10 years," Rossi admitted. "It's not that I was happy to hear that Gideon left, because of personal problems, just that I knew would create a vacant spot on the team."

"That's easy to do when you can't sleep and you live practically forever," Hotch said and Dave nodded in a agreement

"I got a lot of writing done and while I enjoy it, I can certainly still work at the BAU and write as well, since as you said we don't need to sleep," Rossi said.

"At least we're not going to have to train you since you already know how to do the job," Hotch teased him.

Dave snorted in amusement at that and said, "Since I'm the one that helped create the BAU in the first place I would say so."

"Well, why don't I introduce you to the team as I'm sure they're waiting to meet the legendary David Rossi who helped create the unit that they all work for," Hotch said.

"Sounds good," Rossi said amiably.

"And perhaps, you could come meet Emily and our children as they're already getting so big and she only gave birth a few months ago. Of course, Emily was right back to work the very next day, which is one of the advantages of being a vampire."

"I'll be happy to," Rossi immediately.

"They're already walking and talking, but then vampire babies grow fast, much faster than any other species," Hotch added with a genuine smile, as he thought of his children.

The two old friends continued to chat for a few minutes before Hotch rose from behind his desk and headed to the bullpen so he could introduce David Rossi to the rest of the team.

~~~Unexpected Bonds~~~

Dave stared at Jennifer Jareau in shock and couldn't seem to take his eyes off her. He had always been partial to blondes and had had sex with plenty of them over the centuries, he'd even had a few children by those women, which more often then not he ended up taking care of until they were grown, though he always hired a nanny for that. He'd liked children, he always had, which was probably why he agreed to take on the responsibility from those mothers who didn't want anything to do with the children once they were born. He had never been married, never wanted to be, he admitted. He'd had a few serious relationships that had lasted for decades, but then he was 1500 years old after all so that wasn't really surprising.

JJ hadn't been there the day he had come to work at BAU after leaving a mere decade ago, as she'd had some kind of personal appointment. If he had met her then, he would've known days earlier that she was the one, the one he was meant to spend the rest of his existence with, even though he had known many more beautiful women over his 1500 years of existence. It wasn't that JJ, as she was known wasn't a very pretty woman, she just wasn't as gorgeous as some of the women that he'd had sex with over the centuries. However, Dave was well aware that once she was transformed into a vampire she would go from already being very pretty, in a girl next door sort of way, to a stunningly gorgeous one, but that was for the future, as they had only just met after all. His old protégé had suggested that they all go out to a restaurant together, even though he, Aaron, Emily and Keziah didn't eat. It was more for the company and so he could get to know the team in an environment that was conducive to relaxation where they didn't have to worry about a case. Aaron had also thought that it would cause less friction if Dave got to know the people he would be working with now instead of on the job and Dave had to admit that his old protégé had made a very good point. He had been enjoying the evening until JJ finally showed up having been running late. Dave didn't pay attention as Emily muttered to Aaron about what the odds were as all he could do was stare at the beautiful figure that was Jennifer Jareau.

"Hey, Dave, you okay?" Hotch asked his old mentor his voice genuinely concerned.

Dave shook himself and looked over at the tall, relaxed figure of Aaron Hotchner who had a smirk playing on his lips, while Emily just stared at him in astonishment, as if he was some kind of strange alien from the planet Mars.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Rossi promised and although his voice was normal inside he was still reeling with shock internally.

"We do need to talk at some point you know," Hotch told Dave softly who nodded.

"I know," Rossi added just as softly.

JJ for her part stared at the handsome form of David Rossi and trying not to blush, as she thought that the Italian vampire was the most handsome man she had ever met in her life and she worked with Aaron Hotchner who was also extremely drop dead gorgeous. She'd never been sexually attracted to him or anything, well, beyond a little crush, which she had gotten over in the years they had been working together.

There was just something about David Rossi that attracted her and she wasn't even sure what that was as she hadn't dated any since Will LaMontagne Jr. who had been a cop on the New Orleans PD. Thanks to him she had twin sons Henry and Michael who were only three years old and their father knew absolutely nothing about them, as she had broken off the relationship with the excuse that it was to much trouble to maintain it long distance. It was hard to raise twin sons on her salary, but she was managing just fine and if he ever did get into a relationship whether that was with Dave or someone else it would also have to accept her children, as she wasn't about to give them up for anything.

The food for the human members of the team finally arrived while the four vampires received glasses filled with a combination of blood and alcohol that had been mixed together. It had been discovered several hundred years ago now that vampires could drink alcohol straight up, but now ever since the late 20th century there were drinks that were made and ordered specifically for and by vampires, alcohol of one type or another mixed with blood.

Dave had always liked a good scotch and had ever since they were invented, which was sometime in the late 18th century in Scotland, so he got one except in this case mixed with blood instead of straight up and as he sipped his drink as he studied JJ's superstitiously out of the corner of his eye watching as she chatted with Reid and Hotch's sister Keziah.

"So Rossi, why don't you tell us a little bit about yourself," Emily suggested with a smirk in his direction. "After all we've all heard the rumors, but I for one need facts."

JJ tried to pretend that she wasn't interested in hearing more about the tall dark and mysterious David Rossi, but listened avidly while pretending that she wasn't paying attention to anything except her meal.

"What would you like to know?" Rossi asked Emily.

JJ listened avidly to Emily's reply.

"You okay JJ? You've been awfully quiet," Morgan asked his friend.

"I'm fine, Morgan," JJ promised her friend with a smile. "I just have a lot on my mind that's all."

JJ was grateful that Morgan hadn't been paying attention and had not caught the way she had been staring at David Rossi, as he would tease forever and she knew it.

"So how are your sons doing?" asked Garcia. "I haven't seen either Henry or Michael in awhile."

"They're both fine and growing like weeds," JJ told Garcia and Morgan. "You should come by sometime soon as they miss their Auntie Penelope and are often asking when you're going to come visit again and you are their godmother after all."

"So you have two sons then?" asked Rossi who had been listening asked entering the conversation, even as he talked to Emily answering some of her questions.

"Yes, they're twins and I was dating this cop, a detective of the New Orleans PD for awhile, but I discovered I didn't really love him and I got tired of going back in forth. He doesn't know about Henry and Michael, as we broke up before I discovered I was pregnant."

Dave was very pleased with that response, because that meant that his mate wasn't married and he would have two sons out of the deal right away, although he certainly hoped that someday JJ and him would have some of their own. Unfortunately, JJ was completely human and therefore, couldn't be feel the bond that he shared with her unlike Reid and Keziah who both had their own version of the mating bond and therefore, Reid in particular had no problem getting together with Aaron's sister.

Who knew maybe someday Henry and Michael might want to be transformed into vampires, although he hoped they were at least in their early 20s before they made that decision and then he and JJ wouldn't lose them when they eventually died of old age.

Now wasn't the time to think about that though, as he and Jennifer Jareau had just met and she definitely didn't know about the bond he had with her, although he intended to tell her about it sometime soon. However, he would like to truly get to know her first, but was still very interested in making love to her. However, it might take her awhile to accept the fact that she was his mate and while it was going to be hard to wait, as he was a healthy vampire after all with a very active libido, he would do so. He'd had sex frequently over the centuries and no it didn't matter that he was 1500 years old as a vampire's libido never died down, since they never aged once they were grown and that meant their sexual drive always stayed at its peak.

"I've met JJ's sons and they're total cuties and sweethearts," Emily put in and Reid agreed with that considering he was their godfather.

"It must be hard being a single mother, although I know a lot of women do it nowadays, but then most women don't travel for work as much as you do," Rossi said sympathetically.

"It can be difficult, but I have a neighbor who watches them when I'm gone," JJ said silently wondering why she was telling this near total stranger this information. But some instinct was telling her that she could trust this David Rossi and Hotch definitely seemed to trust him, which was several points in his favor, since she trusted her boss. Still, she wasn't normally one to give out personal information until she really got to know someone.

Hotch and Emily watched JJ's interaction with Dave and thought that she was a lot more relaxed than she usually was around strangers and she really didn't know David Rossi at all, but in this case it was a good thing because they had seen how Dave had reacted at the first sight of Jennifer Jareau and they knew immediately what that meant, although the odds of it happening three times so close together were so minuscule that they had never even thought of the possibility.

The odds of two of the team having vampires as mates, well, two that weren't vampires themselves, were so astronomical that they probably couldn't be calculated and for three of the team in total to have found their mates within less than a year of each other were astronomical.

The absolutely ironic and hilarious thing was however, was that Strauss would be ready to spit tacks at this development, but there was absolutely nothing she could do and both Aaron Hotchner and his mate both thought that it was only what she deserved for being such a disagreeable woman.

If she tried to transfer JJ away just because she was a media liaison and technically not a profiler he knew that Dave would have something to say about that and Strauss wouldn't know what hit her. Of course, he had been trying to convince JJ for years to take classes to become a profiler, because she was excellent at it, even though she wasn't an official one and then Strauss wouldn't have a leg to stand on, but she had turned him down every time.

The dinner party broke up and everybody had truly enjoyed themselves, but all of them had to work tomorrow, so they needed to go home and get some sleep, well those that needed sleep that is.

~~~Unexpected Bonds~~~

"What do you suggest I do?" Rossi asked his old protégé and with his mate sitting by his side. He knew he couldn't afford to mess this up and he would likely only get one chance, so he was asking for advice from one of the people that knew her best.

"You're actually asking me for advice?" Hotch asked Dave in surprise.

The three of them were sitting in Hotch's living room sharing drinks. It was over a week later and the day after Dave had come back the team had gotten a case and he had been happy to dive right in, anything that kept his mind off his teammate who was also his mate Jennifer Jareau.

"You know her best," Rossi explained. "She's not another vampire or shifter or she already would have known about what I feel for her, because she would've felt it as well. I don't want to ruin this and have to be forced to change her for my own well-being, as I'd much rather have her go through with the transformation willingly. If I absolutely have to force the issue I will, I'd just rather not."

"Well, first off treat her sons as if they were your own from the first moment you meet them," Emily offered. "She adores her sons and if they dislike you it won't matter what you feel for her as her sons come first—always."

"I was already planning on doing that, as I've raised quite a few sons and daughters over the centuries, because either the mothers didn't want them once they're born or they died during childbirth, because they were mortal," Rossi said.

"That's not in the least unusual, since most grown up vampires have had a few children, whether or not they are mated," Hotch commented and Emily nodded in agreement. "Most of them rarely think of using protection no matter who they're having sex with, since it's not like we can get any of the human diseases."

"That's true," Rossi admitted. "We're a very carnal species and don't really care if we get someone pregnant or not unlike the humans or the shifters, probably because we don't get somebody pregnant at least usually from a one night stand."

"Yes, we use sex as a way to control ourselves so that we're not always thinking about drinking human blood, which is forbidden and has been for 100 years as both our mating and fortification instincts are equally strong," Emily said. "I for one would rather bring babies into the world then go back to drinking human blood and then be hunted down for my trouble and you know that's exactly what would happen to, as I'd would eventually be caught as drinking human blood makes us all look bad."

Both men nodded, as they definitely agreed with that statement because there had been plenty of vampires that hadn't followed the rules in the last hundred years and they had been hunted down, torn apart and the pieces burned to ashes.

"Will, her former boyfriend and father to her sons was a no good, bloodless egg sucking asshole, so I can't really blame JJ for breaking up with him, but she hasn't been very happy since then, at least not when it concerns her personal life, but you have a chance to change that. However, you must go delicately as she'll rightfully be suspicious of your motives. I'm not even sure she's had a date since her breakup and that was more than three years ago, nearly four actually. I know you are going to have to turn her into a vampire at some point as I know very well the strong pull of the mating bond and Emily and I will support you, just as I know Reid and Keziah will, as we all know what you are going through right now."

"Yes, I you do," Rossi agreed. "So let me thank you in advance for helping."  
"No thanks necessary," Emily told Dave with a smile. "All of us know what you're going through. Aaron and I were lucky that we were both vampires, Keziah was lucky that Reid was a shifter and so understood immediately about the implications of not being turned, as he to felt the bond, but JJ is different, as she's completely human."

"However, not all is lost as I've noticed her watching you when she thinks you aren't paying attention, so I would say she is interested at the very least, if her rather wistful expression is any indication," Hotch added. "In all the years I've known her I've never seen JJ so distracted as she's usually able to keep her mind on the task at hand."

"I haven't noticed her distraction," Rossi said.

"It's very subtle, but you've only known her a few days, but trust me she has been very distracted," Hotch promised him with a smile. "I've known Jennifer Jareau for 8 years, so I know her better than almost anyone, except perhaps, for Morgan, Garcia and Gideon."

Dave grinned at that. "It's that old Italian charm," he joked

"It helps that you don't look much older than she is," Emily said, "and trust me to a human age matters. We both know that you're considerably older than you look, but to someone like JJ the fact that you don't look more than 35 or so helps."

"She's right," Hotch agreed. "We both know that you're over 1500, but JJ is only 31 and you don't look more than four or five years older, which will help in this particular situation."

"So what's the best way to approach her?" asked Rossi.

"Well, I would ask her out on a date, dinner for example and yes, I'm aware that you don't have to eat, but she does and since she's already well aware of what you are you're not going to have to eat with her and then throw it up later," Hotch said.

"Thank goodness for that, because I've done that more than once in my centuries on this world and it's never a pleasant experience," Rossi said, making a face. "That was by no means a pleasant experience, none of the times I've had to do it in the last 1500 years."

"All of us have at one point or another," Emily said by way of agreement, grimacing as she thought about her own experiences.

"I would also make sure to include her sons on at least some of your dates, go someplace child friendly," Hotch suggested. "As Emily said she's very close to her twin sons Henry and Michael."

"I will," Rossi promised.

Both Emily and Hotch continued to offer suggestions and Dave made sure he paid attention, as Hotch in particular really did know their teammate best and he was desperate to have a relationship with JJ. He didn't like to think of himself as desperate but in this case it was applicable.

"Don't worry you'll be fine," Hotch promised. "If you need a character witness I'll be happy to fulfill that role for you."

"Believe me, I'll take you up on that offer if necessary, as we're talking about my life here as we all know," Rossi said. "As I've already stated I would prefer Jennifer to go through the transformation on her own free will and not be forced into it."

"Well, for one thing no one calls her Jennifer and she only uses it when she's introducing herself," Hotch recommended. "I'm not sure if she dislikes it or if she just got used to being called JJ, but I wouldn't risk my chances by calling her that at least not until you get to know her much better."

"Probably sound advice, although personally, I like the name Jennifer," Rossi admitted.

"And do we want to know why?" Emily asked Dave teasingly.

"I've always liked the name actually, so no, it's not just because that's JJ's first name, just an added bonus," said Rossi.

"Emily and I will help you out anyway we can," Hotch promised his old friend able to perceive the pain in Dave's eyes. Being parted from your mate, especially when that person didn't even know was torture, but then again JJ wasn't dumb and in fact she was extremely perceptive, so she had probably caught Dave watching her more than once in the last few days. Hotch wouldn't be surprised if JJ figured out exactly why her new teammate was watching her or if she confronted him about it, but only if Dave procrastinated which wasn't normally like him, but then this was his one and only chance at true happiness, so Hotch knew he wasn't going to rush into anything and possibly ruin his only chance of getting JJ to agree to be changed willingly.

"You do know that Strauss is going to go ballistic when she discovers this don't you?" Hotch asked his old friend with the distinct twinkle in his eyes.

"Like I care about that," Rossi snorted. "I care about her opinion as much as you do, which is none. I don't particularly care she finds it suspicious, although I will freely admit that the circumstances are rather unusual. First for you to find your mate, then for Reid to find his and then me mine, but it's not like she believes, it's just the coincidences stacked on top of each other, even if I don't normally believe in such things. We all know that the director isn't going to do anything so long as our crime solving rate doesn't drop and there are no complaints and I have no intention of letting either happen. Of course, once JJ is a vampire whether that's voluntary or not I'll feel much better about her going out in the field, because not much can hurt one of our kind other than fire."

"Don't rush into anything," Emily cautioned. "Give JJ a chance to get to know you first."

"I won't, no matter how much my inner vampire protests that I just take her and make her mine, but I am well practiced in keeping that part of myself in check, although I'm not sure how long I can hold out with working beside JJ every day, although that's infinitely better than being separated from her."

"I definitely agree with that statement," Emily said looking adoringly up at Hotch. "Of course, the difference here is that Aaron and I have completed our bond and have triplets to show for it, while you have not."

"Believe me, I know it," Rossi groaned. "Don't think I'm not aware of the fact that you and Reid have completed the bond with your mates while I haven't, but then again I've only known JJ for a few days and she's also human so that adds another layer of complexity to the problem."

"Just as Aaron said we'll help you in anyway we can," Emily promised.

"Thanks," Rossi said sincerely.

"You're more than welcome," Hotch said, "and just think compared to Reid we have it easy, as we get to work with our mates while he doesn't, so think of the positive instead of all that could go wrong."

"I'll try," Rossi promised, "but in the meantime, I need to find something to keep me very busy at least until JJ and I have actually completed our bond and it isn't like I can go out and have sex with another woman or even several considering that I'm not interested in anybody except JJ, as that's the way it works when it comes to vampires and their mates."

"Yes, that's true, you lose any interest in having sex with anybody, except the one meant for you," Emily agreed. "More than one man has tried to get my attention since Aaron and I met and I always brush them off, even though some of them have been incredibly handsome, though not as handsome as Aaron, of course. Not to mention the way the women tend to swarm around Aaron and he always brushes them off as well, although he's had to be downright rude a few times."

"Yes, I have to agree," Hotch said making a face, "some of those women or men for that matter can't seem to take a no, I'm taken for an answer and before Emily and it met it was more of an annoyance then anything else, but now it's a pain in the ass."

The other two vampires in the room definitely agreed with that statement.

~~~Unexpected Bonds~~~


	12. Chapter 12

Part 12

JJ brushed her long blonde hair one last time and then made sure she had everything before she made her way downstairs. She had hired a babysitter for the night, although Dave had promised to have her home not too late.

JJ was actually amazed at herself that she had agreed to go out on a date with the legendary David Rossi, especially considering that the they'd only known each other for a very short amount of time. He had been so sincere when he asked if she would do him the honor of going out on a date with him and that he gotten reservations at a very exclusive restaurant. That he had gone ahead and made reservations, even before he had known he she would say yes, showed that he was willing to take the chance of her rejection and also that he was aware that she needed to eat even if he didn't.

JJ was trying to figure out why Rossi would be interested in her, well he had insisted that she call him Dave—had invited her out to dinner, although she admitted that she had a slight crush on him—alright, alright, if she was honest with herself a massive crush and so had immediately said yes, even though she hardly knew anything about him other than he was one of the founders of the BAU. However, Hotch seemed to trust him, which was several bonus points in his favor, but then she was aware that the two had known each other for years, but it was certainly another reason she had agreed

Still, JJ was trying to work out why the legendary David Rossi had asked her out as he could have any woman he wanted as he was drop dead gorgeous just like all vampires, but while she'd had a little crush on Aaron Hotchner at one point that had faded over time, but her crush on Dave was much worse and could very easily turn into real love if she wasn't very careful. She didn't want to have her heart broken when Dave eventually found someone else, so she was going to do her best not to fall in love with him. He surely wouldn't be interested in her for very long, since he could have the most gorgeous model on the face of the planet just by snapping his fingers. All the women were always swarming all over him, just like they were for Aaron and Emily, although in her case, it was the males that did the swarming.

JJ finished getting ready and then went to check on her two sons to make sure they knew that she would be back in a little while before she told him that the babysitter was waiting right downstairs.

"Do you have to go mama?" Henry asked. Luckily, the twins were not identical so they were easy to tell apart.

"I'm afraid so, Henry," JJ said with a smile. "Don't worry you'll see me first thing in the morning."

It took a few minutes to reassure her sons and to get them to settle down enough to sleep but then she headed downstairs where he knew Dave was already waiting.

"Ready to go?" Dave asked as soon as JJ had stepped off the stairs.

"Yeah, let's go," JJ said after giving the babysitter her instructions.

Dave offered JJ his arm and she took it with a slight blush, which was unusual for her, but god, David Rossi was so handsome, far handsomer then William LaMontagne had ever been, but then he was a vampire and that was to be expected. She knew that all vampires were drop dead gorgeous, to varying degrees, but whoever had given birth to Dave had probably broken the mold, as there couldn't possibly be a more handsome man on the planet. She was well aware that Emily would disagree with her on who was more handsome, but then that sort of thing was in the eye of the beholder.

"You really didn't have to do this you know," JJ told Dave, as he got in his side of the car after opening the passenger door for her. "I'm very well aware that as a vampire you don't need to eat."

"I wanted to," Rossi told JJ firmly.

Dave had learned quite a bit over the centuries and he could tell that JJ was trying to figure out why he had invited her out on a date, her body language was almost screaming it, and it was easy to read at least to those that were trained in interpreting it.

Dave was sure that JJ considered herself pretty, but in a girl next door sort of way and she was trying to figure out what a gorgeous guy like him was interested in a pretty, but not gorgeous girl, like her.

If Dave was asked he would violently disagree with that statement about his mate not being gorgeous, because she certainly was in her own way, whether or not Jennifer believed it.

"I think your sons are adorable by the way," Rossi commented, as he drove his two-seater Aston Martin expertly through traffic.

"Thank you, I think they are too," JJ answered, as her face lit up at the mention of her sons. "So this might be a little bold of to me, but I've been curious ever since I met you as to whether you've ever had any children of your own and if you have, have you ever been married or were they had illegitimately."

"The answer to your first question about having children and yes, I have. I've had quite a few over the decades and sometimes their mothers raise them and other time the mother either dies in childbirth or wants nothing to do with the child once they were born. Us vampires are very sexual creatures and so we have a lot of sex, even if that's just a one night stand and as for your second question no, I've never been married, as I've never found the right person for me to settle down with."

"Is that what I am a temporary distraction?" asked JJ expecting the answer to be yes, not that she wouldn't take what she could get considering the massive crush she had on him, one that had developed in a matter of days.

Dave tried to figure out how to answer without ruining his chances of them ever getting together voluntarily on JJ's part.

"I don't consider you just a distraction," Rossi tried his best to explain without mentioning that she was his mate. "I never would have asked you out at all, considering we work together if I hadn't started to develop feelings for you, even though I'm well aware we've only known each other for a couple of weeks. A vampire's feeling don't have filters on them like a humans, a magicals or a shifter's do and so they're at least five times as strong as any other species. Normally, I don't ask out somebody I work with, as it usually never ends well, but in your case I made an exception."

"Why make an exception for me when you wouldn't normally?" JJ asked immediately.

Dave cursed himself in his head, as he should've known that his, Jennifer would pick up on the way he worded his sentence, as he had been warned that JJ was extremely intelligent and it looked like Hotch had been right about that. Not that he had a doubt she was because JJ certainly wouldn't be a member of the BAU, even just as a media liaison if she wasn't.

"JJ, when you get to be as old as I am, you learn to trust your instincts," Rossi tried to explain without mentioning mate bonds, as he wasn't sure if she was ready to hear that just yet. "I may look only a few years older than you are but trust me I'm older, much older."

"What does that have to do with asking me out on a date?" JJ inquired trying to work out exactly what Rossi was trying to say.

Suddenly the only answer hit her blinding in its simplicity. What David Rossi was trying to tell her without actually saying the words, likely because he didn't want to scare her off was that she was his mate just like Emily was Hotch's and Keziah was Spence's. Surely that couldn't be right as how could she, a human, be the mate of the great and legendary David Rossi? She knew very well that she couldn't feel the bond that she was now sure that Rossi felt with her and wouldn't until after she was transformed into a vampire. However, she had her sons to consider, as it just wasn't just her after all.

JJ had to admit, however, that Rossi seemed to adore her sons and it wasn't an act as far as she could tell. If what she believed was true, she knew now she wasn't just a distraction for Dave, as she had originally believed and that he was deadly serious about courting her. From what she knew from Emily it must be driving Dave crazy to not have completed the bond yet and she new now that she would be forced to be changed at some point if she didn't agree to it voluntarily. No vampire could lose their mate and expect to live very long afterwards. She would eventually die of old age if nothing else and what was 60 or 70 years to a vampire? That amount of time might seem like a lot, but it could pass in the blink of an eye to someone who was nearly immortal.

Dave watched his mate out of the corner of his eye and immediately knew when she had figured out what he had been saying, which had him mentally cursing, even as he drove his jet black Aston Martin.

"You okay?" Rossi asked JJ when she said nothing and after a few minutes.

"I'm fine, although I'm still wondering why you just couldn't tell me the truth instead of avoiding the subject," JJ said.

"I just wanted to give you time to get to know me," Rossi explained, as calmly as possible, "but I should've known that you would figure it out, as you do have two examples in front of you. If it wasn't for Aaron and Emily and also Reid and Keziah I doubt very much you would've figured it out so fast and would probably have had to have been told. But thanks to the fact that people you are close to have found their mates and those mates happen to be vampires, well, I should've known that you would put the pieces together."

"Why should you have known, because after all you don't know me that well, just like I don't know you?" asked JJ.

"Because Aaron told me that you were very intelligent and I already knew that, because the BAU only accepts the best," Rossi explained, as calmly as possible.

"So where do we go from here?" asked JJ curiously.

"Well, I thought we could date for awhile, just so we can get to know each other and the pace of our relationship will be up to you. When you tell me you're ready to take his farther then we will, not before. However, if you try to tell me that you're breaking up with me and don't love me you know what will happen," Rossi answered, his tone firm.

JJ gulped, because she knew very well that her changing into a vampire would be forced upon her if necessary, although it was also clear that Dave would much rather her go through it voluntarily.

"What about Henry and Michael?" asked JJ.

"Well, I was planning at some point to adopt them officially," Rossi explained calmly, "but only with your permission and only after we have gotten together and at the very least completed the bond. I would never ask you to abandon your children and I love children anyway, as I've had quite a few in my time."

"Would you change them into vampires?" asked JJ next.

"Only after they reached at least 18, although I would prefer for them to be in their mid-20s, and only if that's what they wanted. If they chose to live out their span of years as normal humans, then that would be okay to, as I will never force the change on anybody who didn't want it, except for you, but only because if you die, I die, even if that's a hundred years from now, when your normal human life is over. A century is nothing to a vampire, as I'm sure you're aware."

JJ considered Dave's words and actually relaxed because what Dave was saying made a great deal of sense and showed that David Rossi, despite being born so many centuries ago was a man with honor and integrity. Did she want to be changed into a vampire against her will the answer to that was no, however, she could also understand where Dave was coming from. A vampire's mate was always changed into one of their own kind, because of the consequences of that not happening.

"What about my job though I doubt very much I'll still have one if I leave for a year or more. I love my job and I don't particularly, want to lose it just to be turned into a vampire," JJ asked.

"I'll go to the director and get you the time off, even if that's without pay as I'll happily support you, Henry and Michael. The director will understand that this was unexpected, especially considering that Aaron also found his mate less then six months ago and so did Reid. If Gideon had never left the team I never would have come back and we never would have met and then it wouldn't've been a problem. It was really a set of very unusual coincidences that had us meet and the second we did I knew you were the one," Rossi said.

"I could take profiling classes as Hotch has been urging me to do for the last few years and then I can come back as a profiler instead of the media liaison, although I would of course, help out in that area whenever it was needed and then Strauss wouldn't have any say in the matter," JJ mused.

"So why didn't you?" asked Rossi.

"To tell you the truth I never wanted to be a profiler, although I realize that I'm already a decent one. If I still got to work with the team, people I already love and respect, then I'd be willing to take the classes if I could go back to a job I love and people who are my family. Not to mention working with you would be a really great bonus," JJ explained.

"I definitely agree with that last statement," Rossi grinned.

"Strauss won't," JJ said practically.

"True enough, Erin is a very hard woman," Rossi admitted.

"So were you ever involved with her?" asked JJ more curiously than anything else.

"Yes, I was, although that was back when the BAU was just getting started and she was already in administration. I truly believed at that time that I was ready settle down, perhaps, have a few children, even though I hadn't yet met my mate and Erin seemed like an excellent candidate. I believed myself in love and I was at that time, but those feelings started to fade after a few years, as I realized that although I would always love her for who she used to be, I was no longer in love with her. I was very, very lonely at that time in my life as I hadn't had a relationship in decades and sometimes when you're lonely you'll do things that you later come to regret. Now while I don't regret the brief relationship I had with Erin Strauss I eventually realized that it wouldn't last and that I didn't love her enough to turn her into a vampire, even if she had agreed to go through the transformation. Even if she had been transformed our relationship would have eventually broken up and now I'm so glad that we never took those steps."

Dave placed one of the hands on the JJ's arm to signify exactly why he was glad and JJ felt a nice warm glow at Dave's sincere words.

"I hope this doesn't cause you to break off our just starting relationship, but I felt I should be honest," Rossi said trying not to let his anxiety show.

"No if anything it reassures me," JJ told Dave leaning over just enough to kiss him on the cheek. The skin of Dave's cheek was stone hard and also cold, but then JJ had expected that and so wasn't startled.

Dave looked extremely pleased, but then looked at JJ for an explanation as to why it reassured her.

"The reason it really reassures me, is because it means that you're human enough to truly feel love, bond or no bond and that you haven't let all the centuries and historic events you have seen make you jaded," JJ began to explain. "Us humans really don't know much about vampires or whether or not they feel genuine emotion like love or sadness as these things can be acted, but not truly felt, especially if you have centuries of practice. Us humans do know that it's very hard to hurt one of you even a half vampire like Emily, but most humans wonder if you truly feel any emotions at all, real emotions not ones that are faked, since a lot of the things that apply to humans or shifters don't apply to your species."

"I understand," Rossi said after a few seconds of thinking about what JJ had said.

"So as long as you are always honest with me about your experiences no matter how embarrassing they were for you personally at the time and you answer any question I ask truthfully then I'll agree that our relationship can go forward," JJ said laying her expectations down.

"You sure are being accommodating," Rossi said his lips twitching in a repressed smile.

"You can thank the fact that I've known Aaron Hotchner for many years and he trusts you," JJ said. "Hotch doesn't show much emotion, although that has begun to change ever since he and Emily met, but he's been there for every member of the team when they needed him and he protects us from people like Strauss who would like to see the team split up. I already knew that Aaron Hotchner was an honorable man and you appear to be the same, which only helps your case. I knew Hotch cared for us in his own distant way, but now I can see that he truly considers the team as part of his family and not just Emily his mate or even Spence who is technically his brother-in-law now, even if he and Keziah haven't officially tied the knot. If I hadn't known another vampire beforehand or in this case three, although I haven't known Emily or Keziah either all that long, then I guarantee you that it would've taken much longer to gain my trust. I warn you however, if you lose my trust, you'll never regain it, as I'm not one that's going to be burned twice. One of the reasons I broke up with Will, although the rest of the team aren't aware of this was I found out he had been cheating on me and this was the main reason I decided never to tell him the fact that I was pregnant or about his sons once they were born. I just knew he would demand parental rights and there was no way in hell I was going to give him a chance to worm himself back into my life."

Dave growled at that, which JJ actually found endearing and also heartwarming.

"Don't worry, I have no intention of losing your trust and I also guarantee you that ever since I set eyes on you I haven't been interested in anybody else sexually, as that's the way the vampire mating bond works. You just lose interest in having sex with anybody, except your mate and in fact I can't have sex with anybody except you because my manhood won't respond to anyone else ever again. Once you are turned into a vampire you to will feel the bond that I have with you and you'll know that I'm not going anywhere. I will never be interested in another in that way until the end of our existences," Rossi promised.

JJ nodded not wanting to admit at least right that second that she already had a huge crush on David Rossi and now perhaps, she could allow herself to truly fall in love, a state she had never been in before, although she had believed that she loved William LaMontagne Jr., for over a year, before his cheating had come to light. She had been devastated or at least she had believed she was, but she had come to realize that it was more the fact that she hadn't caught onto what kind of man Will was before she had gotten pregnant, even if adored her sons.

"If our relationship progresses like I hope it will then in a few months, perhaps, I'll agree to be changed into a vampire and also for you to legally adopt Henry and Michael." JJ said after a lengthy silence.

"I'll look forward to it," Rossi promised, as he pulled into the restaurant where he had gotten the reservation. "We can discuss it later though, as we're here now and I promised you a date that you would remember for years to come."

"Shall we go then?" JJ asked, as Dave nodded cutting off the engine and then exiting the car before racing around to JJ's side in order to open the door for her.

"My lady?" Rossi asked offering his mate his arm once she had exited the car.

"Why thank you, kind, sir," JJ laughed delightedly, as she took Dave's arm letting him lead her towards the restaurant that he had chosen for their date tonight.

~~~Unexpected Bonds~~~

"Are you ready?" Hotch asked Reid.

Reid looked incredibly nervous at the needle that was in Hotch's hand, a needle that was already filled with venom with several more waiting.

He, Spencer Reid had just turned 30 yesterday and so had his three siblings who had also decided to go through the process of becoming vampires, an incredibly painful process.

This process was taking place outside the city in a house Hotch owned up in the mountains. The house in question was really pretty average in size and certainly much smaller than the one he and Emily were living in, in the city, but it was more than adequate for their current needs. Being away from the general population was a very good idea when you were transforming someone into a vampire, because not only did they scream loud enough to wake the dead during the entire process they had to learn how to control their bloodlust before there were a lot of people with beating hearts around. Strauss for her part wasn't exactly happy at this situation, actually downright pissed would be closer to the truth, but also there was really nothing she could do, like fire Reid for being gone for so many months. The higher-ups had agreed that this was inevitable and they did want Dr. Reid back once he had learned control.

Reid and Keziah had been together for almost two years now and both had felt that it was time, especially since Keziah was now pregnant with their first child and had been for a week. Reid had been ecstatic when he learned, but he knew that he would have to go through the transformation before the child was born and he didn't particularly care if it was a boy or girl or even if it was twins or more since he was a shifter after all and having multiples was normal for his species, because he would love them even if it ended up being quadruplets like he was. He doubted it was that many since quadruplets were practically unknown among the vampire community and triplets were extremely rare. Then again it wasn't often that a male shifter was found to be the mate of a female vampire and if it did happen, then the vampire in question didn't get pregnant.

"I'm ready," Reid told Hotch firmly.

"Alright then, why don't you get undressed and lay down on the bed," Hotch instructed calmly.

Reid did as ordered, not even blushing, as this wasn't the first time that Hotch had seen him naked and Keziah to had access to his body anytime she so desired, which was as often as possible, especially considering he was gone so much for work.

Reid laid down on the large four-poster bed with only his underwear on and Hotch came to stand on one side of the bed while Keziah stood on the other.

"As you know the more venom we inject into his body the faster the transformation will take place," Hotch told his sister who nodded soberly, "so are you clear exactly where the needles are supposed to go?"

"Yes, big brother," Keziah said not even being sarcastic, as she really wasn't looking forward to her mate screaming in excruciating pain for the next 48 hours at least and possibly longer, as it could take up to 3 days. Her mate though was willing to go through with it and this was also something she wanted more than anything, because in the end, after the transformation was completed, Spencer would never leave her side as he too would then be immortal. Or at least as near as you could get to it anyway. The two of them would have many centuries together to experience the good times and the bad and she was eagerly looking forward to it.

"Alright then," Hotch said seriously.

Reid had closed his eyes and tried to relax as he felt the first needle pricking into his skin and then the second except on opposite sides.

"It'll be over soon, love," Keziah told her mate softly, even as she picked up another needle and pushed down the plunger after she was sure that she had it in the vein and knew that her brother was doing the same on her mate's other side, but all she could do was concentrate on her own task.

Finally though after what seemed like forever, but was really only a couple of minutes it was done and all in all Spencer had been pricked in about nine or ten different times, with venom filled needles.

Reid started screaming immediately as pure fire raced through his veins and Keisha immediately laid on the empty side of the bed and took his hand in hers.

"I know this is painful for you, but it had to be done," Hotch told his sister sympathetically, seeing her emotional distress. "Believe me, I'm sharing your pain as I consider Reid like a son or at least a little brother."

"I know it had to be done, as I can't live without him and he's the one that decided it was time when he found out I was pregnant and have been so for week," Keziah explained. "You're going to have a niece or nephew and possibly more sometime in the next seven weeks."

"Congratulations," Hotch said once he got over his astonishment at his sister's announcement, as this was the first he had heard of this.

"Thank you, both Spencer and I are very happy about it, but Spence wanted to go through his transformation before the child or children were born," Keziah replied distractedly, as her attention was focused mostly on her mate.

"That was a very well thought out decision on Reid's part, because he knew that the children would be part vampire as well as part shifter. Emily for one could eat human food if she really wanted to, since she is half magical, but that would cause her to have human reactions like having to go to the bathroom in order to get rid of waste, so she usually sticks to just blood."

"It also decreases your vampire strength, hearing sense of smell and so forth, which is another reason she probably avoids eating human food," Keziah said.

"Yes, that's another reason," Hotch agreed. "Now I had better go check on Reid's siblings to make sure that our brothers and sisters have done the deed."

"You're such a control freak," Keziah told her brother rolling her dark brown eyes. "You know there's no way that our siblings that offered to help out are going to mess up the process."

"I know, but it doesn't had to check all the same," Hotch said. "You know the only reason I agreed to do more then Reid and one of his siblings was because so many of our brothers and sisters volunteered to help and also stick around for the next year or so to help our new vampires through the process of becoming integrated into society once more."

"I'm glad they did volunteer, because I know Spence wasn't looking forward to only having one of his siblings go through the process with him, as he at least wanted the three that were born at the same time go through the process together, once they had agreed to it. Spencer was pretty sure that's exactly what would occur, since they're all pretty close, although I know that Spence had his doubts until they all contacted him and told him that they agreed to go through the process to become vampires."

"Which is why that it's always offered to transform a close relative or friend or even more than one into vampires along with the one that has to undergo the transformation," Hotch said. "It's felt that that vampire will settle better into his new life if he has people he already is familiar with around him or her."

"I know," Keziah told her brother trying to ignore her mate's screams of unspeakable agony.

"I'll leave you alone, as Emily and I have got to get back to the team as we're already down one and will be for at least the next six months. I don't want to leave them anymore shorthanded than they already are, but you're to contact me if there are any problems and I'll make sure to call frequently."

"This place isn't so far off the beaten track that you can't drive out here in a few hours and it's not like you need to sleep," Keziah pointed out. "I certainly expect to see you and Emily every couple weeks at least."

Keziah had really come to love her brother's mate who was technically her sister-in-law, even through she and Aaron had yet to tie the knot. They were certainly planning to do that at some point, but no date had been set. Besides, legally getting married didn't really matter to one of her kind, so they were only going to tie the knot in the human way, because that's what they wanted not because of society's rules.

"Emily and I will make sure to visit for at least a few hours every few weeks," Hotch promised before he strode powerfully out of the room.

~~~Unexpected Bonds~~~


	13. Chapter 13

Part 13

Keziah simply lay beside her mate on the four-poster bed and talked to him softly never letting her voice fade as she wanted to give Spencer something else to concentrate on instead of the agony he was currently feeling. Keziah hadn't realized how long she had been talking as she hadn't even glanced at a clock as all her concentration was on the man on the bed, the man who was in considerable agony, as he screamed as his if his heart was being ripped from his body.

"It's almost over, love, you don't have much farther to go before your transformation is complete and I promise I'll love you forever," Keziah said her voice passionate.

Over the many hours that Keziah had been laying here refusing to move until the transformation was complete she had tentatively touched Spencer's arm and had immediately noticed that the skin was beginning to take on the consistency and texture of a vampire's. It was starting to become as hard as stone, as hard as hers and also ice cold, which were two positive signs that the transformation was almost finished. Keziah had watched as all of her mate's imperfections had just simply disappeared as her venom raced through his system, taking care of any possibility of schizophrenia for example and clearing up any defects that could cause him to get incredibly sick or even die before his time if he had remained mortal. Her mate would no longer have to worry about coming down with the same disease as his mother, although he would keep being able to shift into a wolf that he had inherited from his bastard father.

Just thinking about that bastard William Reid made her want to go hunt him down and tear him limb from limb, so she tried to think of something else. Keziah well knew that Spencer's eyes would be bright blood red once the transformation was complete, but so long as he stuck to the artificial blood that bright redness would fade in anywhere from six months to a year back to his beautiful golden brown. Sure sometimes they drank animal blood that was served in any food establishment whether was that was just a coffee shop or a five star restaurant, but there was so little blood in them that it didn't affect the color of their eyes unless they drank a great deal of it. People who had started serving blood at restaurants were aware that vampires could act human and so long as it was in a cup or glass most of the time people never knew what they were.

Suddenly Keziah stopped talking as Spencer finally stopped screaming and she heard his heartbeat speed up frantically for a few seconds before suddenly stopping completely.

"Where am I? What's happening?" asked Reid who opened his eyes and they were indeed a bright newborn red.

"Don't you remember?" asked a vaguely familiar female voice.

Reid's head whipped around as he stared at this gorgeous female who was laying on the bed beside him. Suddenly he felt as if he was staring into his destiny and he vaguely remembered not being of such a whimsical bent before and certainly he felt the pull of the mating bond and knew immediately what it was.

"Keziah?" asked Reid. The name floated to the forefront of his mind after he had felt the bond that was between him and this gorgeous female that had long black hair and dark brown eyes.

"You remember?" Keziah asked, hopefully. Keziah well knew that her mate's memory would begin to come back once he had truly realized his new situation and had had his thirst satisfied.

"Only vaguely," Reid said not realizing how much his voice had changed.

"Well, let's get you fed and that should help your memory recall and deal with your thirst at the same time," Keziah suggested.

Reid's hand automatically went to his throat as he hadn't noticed the intense burning, as he had still been trying to assimilate his surroundings and also the most exquisite female he had ever laid eyes on.

Reid had no way of knowing how much his looks had changed, once the transformation had really gotten underway. Reid had always been a handsome man, even if he couldn't compare to someone like Derek Morgan. Now however, that handsomeness had been transformed and he was now just as drop dead gorgeous as his mate in the looks department and way more gorgeous then his black teammate was now, but then he was mortal and Reid no longer was.

"Yes, that sounds like a good idea," Reid agreed immediately.

"Then why don't you follow me downstairs, but be very careful not to touch anything because you're super strong right now and you'll crush anything you touch until you learn to control it."

Reid obeyed her instructions and followed Keziah downstairs at a normal pace that for some reason felt much too slow.

"Here you go," Keziah said offering him a mug made out of a heavy grey metal as that would be a lot harder to crush then porcelain or glass, but still possible of course, particularly for a newborn who had just woken up from the change.

Reid took the mug carefully as possible and then gulped it down as soon as he was sure that he wasn't going crush the handle, which he suspected was still possible, even though the mug was metal.

"More?" Keziah asked with a little smile already knowing the answer and Reid nodded.

Keziah took a pitcher out of the fridge and poured Reid another mugful which he also gulped down and then held out his mug for more.

Keziah obliged him and it was quite a few mugs later that he finally felt satisfied.

"So how do you feel now?" asked Keziah.

Reid thought about it for a moment and then said, "Much better as my throat no longer feels as if it's on fire."

"Good, you tell me when you feel thirsty as we make sure that there was plenty of blood stocked as there are 4 new vampires in this house," Keziah said pleased.

"Four?" Reid asked immediately.

"Yes, for as your three siblings agreed to go through the transformation at the same time you did and they should be coming downstairs any moment now," Keziah explained.

Reid got a flash of memory of three other children another boy and two girls that looked very similar to him, except for the fact that the girls had long hair.

"You remember?" Keziah asked as she had been watching her mates facial expressions closely.

"I do remember three other children that look very similar to myself all with my shade of brown hair and the only difference really is two of them got blue eyes and that two of them are females."

"The other boy that looks like you except for the blue eyes is Oliver or Ollie as he is called, the two girls are Sabrina and Perdita.

As Keziah said the names of his siblings Spencer was overcome with memories of the four of them growing up together and then Reid also had other people pop into his mind that were a few years younger and he assumed that these were also his siblings.

"You okay?" Keziah asked her mate in concern.

"Yes, I'm fine," Reid said shaking his head in an effort to dislodge what he had been shown. "I just had a lot of I'm assuming they're memories popping into my head when you mentioned my siblings names. It was just a little much to absorb all at once."

"Yes, they should start to come back over the next few months until you have at least most of them and the same will happen for your siblings," Keziah said relaxing.

"So who are the other six children that kept popping up in my mind? I'm assuming that also my siblings as they look to much like the other three to not be at least related."

"They are," Keziah said. "You had nine siblings altogether, which is about average in a shifter family, particularly wolf shifters, who almost always have multiples of one sort or another, just like their real wolf counterpart."

"So only the siblings that were born at the same time I are being turned into vampires?" asked Reid as he and Keziah headed back to the bedroom where Spencer had been transformed.

"Well, we can only handle so many newborn vampires at one time," Keziah explained gently, "and if they agree to be turned then they will be, but at a later date. You said how you wanted the three youngest to reach at least thirty before they were turned and that includes the middle three as well, but did acknowledge that they were old enough to make their own decisions, since even the youngest were nearly 24 when you went through your transformation."

Reid thought about his mate's words and remembered having that exact same conversation with his nine siblings as it flashed through his mind.

"Yes, I remember that," Reid said, slowly.

"Well, it didn't happen too long ago actually just a year or so," Keziah, "and so those memories will likely come back first."

"I seem to remember a distant voice talking to me and being in excruciating pain for what seemed forever," Reid said.

"I talked to you the whole time and you were only in that excruciating pain if you put it for about a day and a half."

"So when can I see my siblings?" said Reid.

"Right now if you like, because since you can no longer hear any screaming that means that their transformations are now complete. I warn you though they might not remember you at first, just like you didn't remember them."

"But you said that once they've been vampires for awhile their memories will start to come back," Reid pointed out and Keziah nodded in confirmation. "So who was staying with them, as I'm assuming that they had other vampires staying with them until they woke in order to guide them through their first few months."

"You would be right and it was some of my siblings that agreed to stay with them and also help in anyway they could until they are able to go out on their own while I stayed with you. This house is absolutely chock full of vampires as not only are there four newborns there is about 10 other experienced vampires just in case one of those newborns gets out of control."

"Does that happen often?" Reid asked a little alarmed, as he knew the laws very well and if one of his siblings happened to kill someone mortal, even if it was just an accident they would be put to death if it was ever discovered.

"Not too often, just occasionally, when a newborn thinks they know better than those that have been around for centuries," Keziah said with a shrug. "Just because a human or shifter agrees to be changed doesn't mean that they can't be stubborn and think they know better then another vampire, one who isn't a newborn and who has gotten used to the extra strong emotions that they have. It's going to take awhile for you to get a handle on having the filters removed from your emotions as they'll be at least five times as strong, so you're going to have to watch out that you don't crush everything you touch like that mug I gave you filled with blood for example. You made sure you were careful with the amount of strength you used on the mug and soon it will become ingrained and I'll no longer have to warn you to be careful as you'll do so without even consciously thinking about it."

"It's like a human child who learns at an early age to not to touch a hot plate or put their hand in the fire, it becomes instinctive," Reid said and Keziah nodded.

"Exactly," Keziah agreed with a smile. "Of course, when you actually want to crash something you'll have to think about using your strength. Think of yourself like Superman in comics books, movies and television shows as he would destroy things on a regular basis if watching his strength hadn't become so ingrained. He surely wouldn't be able to keep his identity secret if he destroyed something every time he touched it or if he couldn't control his laser vision to where it was under his command instead if it just destroyed things every time he looked at something, including human beings."

"Yes, he wore those glasses more to remind himself when he was a child to be careful then because he needed them," Spencer remembered. "They were lead lined and his x-ray vision on his laser vision wouldn't work through them."

"Well, you surprise me I didn't know you knew anything about comic books," Keziah said with a smile.

"I was a child once, though I admit I was a very serious one, but some of my siblings were not, I well remember spending multiple hours just reading through their collection of comic books. I wasn't one for playing outdoors, even when the weather was fine a fact that my father often harped on, because he thought I should be normal and play outside like all little boys."

"Just because you didn't like to play outside you supposedly weren't normal?" Keziah growled.

"Yes, well my father's ideas of what was normal were screwed, because he didn't want children with their own intelligence and personalities. He wanted ones that were exactly like him, like clones. He considered me defective just because I didn't like running around outside, as I was always more of an indoor person and I liked to read and study even back when I was young, which father didn't exactly consider normal."

"Your father was a fool, a bastard and an idiot," Keziah exploded. "Not everybody is the same for if they were life would be very boring, don't you think? Everybody on the face of the earth whether they're vampires, shifters, humans or magicals have their own distinct personalities and inbuilt traits."

"I knew that even as a small child," Spencer said, even as he put his hand on Keziah's arm in order to calm her down. "Let's stop discussing it as someday my father will get what's coming to him, even if that's a few decades away still."

"Alright," Keziah said calming down. "I probably shouldn't be discussing it with four newborns that can hear me after all, because all their emotions are a little bit volatile right now and also very near the surface. Newborns have been known to do rash things and get themselves in loads of trouble, so it's better if we just don't discuss sensitive subject until all your emotions calm down and you're past the newborn stage."

"I have a great idea and that's we go down and see my siblings, as I'm starting to remember more and more about my life with them and then we go back up to our bedroom and make wild passionate love and I don't care who hears us," Spencer said.

This was certainly a switch Keziah knew, as normally her mate was pretty shy about his sex life and didn't like anybody else to know what he was doing, but then a newborn's emotions were out of control at the moment so that certain things that had used to be part of his personality no longer existed, or at least they didn't exist at present. Once Spencer's newborn year was over he might turn back into the shy young man who wasn't one to blab about his sex life. Sex to Spencer was a very private thing and didn't like anybody to hear what he and his mate were doing when they actually made love or fucked each other senseless would be closer to the truth or he might not. Of course, before, her mate had needed a certain amount to sleep to be able to function, but now that that was no longer the case she was going to take advantage of the fact that now her mate was just like her and they could make love all night all day if they so desired.

"I like that idea," Keziah said enthusiastically.

"I figured you would," Spencer said with a smug expression his eyes a wide with lust and desire. "We're going to have at least six months here to where we can make love every chance we get, although we will need to spend a certain amount of time with the other vampires in the house. Still, we'll be having sex much more than we could have previously, since I needed to certain amount of sleep and was also gone frequently for work."

"You know I was just thinking the same thing," Keziah grinned. "I'm glad you feel that way, because there is no way that I could go a whole year without having sex with you and I know you feel the same, but I'm glad you're not too shy to do it when there are quite a few other vampires in the house."

"Well, they all are aware of the bond I share with you, even if we're the only two that can feel it so they probably expect us to spend a great deal of time by ourselves, considering that now I'm a vampire. Of course, I also can't wait for the birth of our children who will be half shifter and half vampire, since you got pregnant before I was turned, but before then I intend to keep you very occupied."

"They might be half-and-half, but they won't be able to shift, because even though you still should be able to it doesn't seem to pass to any children a shifter/vampire couple have."

"I know and I've always wondered why that was," Reid mused. "I suppose it has a lot to do with genetics, but still I would think that any children we have would be able to shift since I still can or at least I should be able to."

"You know I didn't think about it like that, I mean the fact that you were still completely mortal when you got me pregnant, so it's possible that these children will be in the shift shape. I'm not sure there's ever been any tests done on that subject. Normally if a shifter is turned into a vampire they can still shift but their children cannot, but since you hadn't been changed yet..."

"Well, we'll just have to wait and see as there is no way of knowing at this point," Reid said. "At least I will be able to get to spend time with my children in the first few months of their lives before I go back to work."

"Well, shall we go see our siblings?" Keziah asked and Reid nodded taking her hand as gently as possible so that he didn't hurt her considering that he was at least twice as strong as her at the moment, although that would fade over the course of the next year.

"We shall," Reid agreed. "Besides, I want to know if they remember me or not."

"Well, you remember them and all I had to do was tell you their names, so is it's likely that they remember you and each other as well."

"You know I wonder why I haven't heard any of them moving around as I would think I would with my new vampire hearing," Reid said just now realizing that the house was awfully silent except for the normal creak of floorboards in the room they were in.

"There's soundproofing in all the rooms," Keziah explained. "My brother's had this place for years, but he only had the soundproofing put in recently because he knew that we would be making a great deal of love."

Reid thought about that and then a tall dark haired, brown eyes commanding man flashed into his memory. "His name is Hotch?"

"That's what you call him at work," Keziah explained. "It's a shortage of our last name and that's Hotchner since the FBI doesn't exactly encourage you to use first names. He's your unit chief, your boss in other words, but also your friend and brother-in-law. He asked you to call him Aaron after we had completed the bond that was between us back when you were still mortal when you weren't working."

Reid nodded as a specific conversation entered his memory in a flash. The flashes of memory were getting much more frequent, but then he wasn't about to complain, as he would like to remember as much of his previous life as was possible before he hopefully, went back to work as he remembered loving his work with the BAU.

"Keep telling me things that you know about my past life as it's bringing back a lot of memories and I'm hoping that having a conversation with my siblings will bring back even more. I want to remember as much of my former life as possible even if I know some of those memories aren't going to be very pleasant."

"Yes, you have a lot of unpleasant memories at least from what you've told me, but then so does everybody who has lived for any length of time," Keziah agreed.

"Alright then, let's head into the living room as I can sort out my memories a little later," Reid said and Keziah agreed taking his hand and opening the door for him, so that he didn't crush the knob on accident just because he wasn't watching his strength.

"After we spend sometime with the family we're going to head directly to our bedroom," Keziah said almost being demanding. She wasn't about to waste any time with her mate considering he was gone so much for work when he had been mortal and she very well knew that it would be the same again once they've got him past the newborn stage, even if he didn't need to sleep anymore. Still, she intended to take advantage of their time together while she could.

"I certainly won't object," Reid said giving his mate a lecherous smirk a pretty unusual expression on his face.

"I didn't think you would," Keziah said saucily back.

"I would have to be insane to object to that, as I remember making love all night sometimes and of me going into work tired the next day, but it was so worth it."

"Definitely," Keziah agreed with a smirk of her own, "and I like to point out that you'll no longer be tired from having sex for hours considering that you're no longer a mortal. You no longer need to sleep so we can have sex as much as we want."

"Which will be a lot," Reid said.

"Definitely," Keziah agreed wholeheartedly.

~~~Unexpected Bonds~~~

Less than two months later

Keziah went into labor in the middle of the afternoon not that the time really mattered to a vampire, since they couldn't sleep.

Luckily, for them a doctor was already in-house, as one of Hotch's sisters had gone into the medical profession and Hotch had contacted her once he had learned that his sister was pregnant as he had known that she would be unlikely to be able to get to a hospital, especially if Reid couldn't go along as the father. They didn't know whether Keziah was carrying just a singleton, twins or more so he felt it was better to have a doctor on hand just in case and that it was one of the family was just a really great added bonus.

Damaris had appeared out of the blue saying that Aaron had called her, so she could be present for the birth because birthing twins, if that's what it was, wasn't easy even for a vampire and she might need an operation. Damaris had brought all the necessary equipment with her, which luckily, wasn't really very much just a knife that was capable of cutting through vampire skin and scissors also capable of it. There would be no need for a needle and thread because so long as a vampire who had just given both by c-section got plenty of blood they would heal immediately and be up and about in just an hour or two and a needle wouldn't penetrate a vampire's skin anyway so it was just as well.

Keziah was absolutely enormous by the time she was just a month and a week pregnant and everybody in the house that knew anything about babies thought it had to be at least twins, but likely more.

"Alright," Damaris said. "I want you, Spencer, to stand at the side of the bed. Keziah's already fully dilated so it won't be long before these babies are born and I'm only going to do the emergency c-section if it's absolutely necessary."

"How many do you think she's carrying?" Reid asked, even as he obeyed instructions.

"Well, as big as she is I wouldn't be surprised if it was triplets or more," Damaris admitted. "You were still mortal when you got Keziah pregnant, which likely means that it's more than twins. A male shifter getting a female vampire pregnant has happened in the past and they usually have anywhere from twins to quadruplets. We're not exactly sure why it is different for vampires, even if one of them used to be a shifter before they went through the transformation, just that that is the case. Aaron knew this, and so he called me and I immediately took some time off from the hospital where I work, because I didn't want Keziah to have trouble giving birth, because not all your children were facing the proper direction in order to be born naturally. If it's twins or more the likelihood of that drop with each baby you add. Twins are often still birthed naturally, but with triplets and more it's usually always a c-section and you must consider that unlike mortals no matter the species a vampire can't die due to birth complications, especially not since tools were invented to deal with complications like the birth of twins or more. Fortunately, or unfortunately, there's no way to tell how many she is carrying, because ultrasounds don't work on us, although from the size of her stomach I would estimate at least three. I could measure her the old-fashioned way and she can tell me where the the baby is kicking her in the kidney or the bladder at the same time and that means that its at least twins, since those are two totally different spots and to for apart for it to be one baby. Also unfortunately, we can't just listen for the heartbeat since they won't have any due to the fact that the vampire genes are dominate."

Reid nodded looking relieved and followed Damaris instructions.

"She has been drinking a great deal of that artificial blood much more than I remember her drinking back before I went through my transformation. For the last couple of weeks that's practically all she's done, because she was thirsty all the time and didn't feel full. It's a good thing that and Aaron and Emily left such am extensive stock and always bring some with them when they visit, especially with so many vampires in the house."

"Well, my brother knew that you'd need a lot due to having so made many newborn vampires and a lot of other older vampires in the same house and he's always been pretty well organized and practical. He knew it would take gallons of blood to keep this household from going hunting humans, since this house is kind of out of the way and away from civilization."

"Which has a very practical purpose," Reid said. "I know enough about the vampire species to know that it's better if newborns are made away from human towns and cities, so that there's no temptation for them to go hunting humans."

"Could you guys just get on with it," Keziah interrupted panting heavily. "Pregnant woman here whose water has broken."

"All I need from you at the moment is to encourage her to push and if I need to switch positions with you I'll make sure I tell you," Damaris said without missing a beat or taking offense since pregnant woman did tend to be cranky, especially during labor.

Reid was happy to take his mate's hand and quietly coach her to push the first baby out of the birth canal. He made sure that he was extremely gentle, as he still had his newborn strength and would for awhile and he wouldn't hurt his mate for anything in the world. He had been doing fairly well about learning to control his strength, but he'd still had a few accidents as had his three siblings, when he had crushed or ripped something accidentally, even something as hard as wood or even stone, which was only natural he knew.

Reid continued to gently encourage her and it wasn't really long at all before his first child slid out of his mate's birth canal.

"It's a boy!" Damaris announced.

I have a son! Reid thought joyfully. And I'll certainly treat him better than my own father treated me and my siblings. Reid held his son, gently, but firmly before he passed it to one of his siblings who was just outside the door as much as he didn't want to, but he knew he needed to concentrate as his mate was still in labor and he would help out in anyway he could.

Keziah for her part kept pushing, but the baby refused to emerge from her birth canal and so Damaris checked and saw an elbow instead of a head.

"I'm going to have to do a c-section as the next baby isn't turned in their proper direction as I'm seeing an elbow sticking out instead of a head. I knew this was a possibility so I brought all the appropriate tools."

"I've also read up on emergency medical procedures when it concerns a woman giving birth, so I can help you if you need it," Reid offered.

"Thank you for the offer if I need your help I'll make sure I ask," Damaris said calmly.

Damaris had heard a lot about this Spencer Reid from both her brother and his mate and she had been told how brilliant he was. Her brother was not an easy man to impress and yet Spencer Reid had done just that without even knowing it and she to had found herself impressed with this brilliant, quiet, compassionate man who was her sister's mate. She was more than happy to have him join her already enormous family and she knew that Aaron and Emily were as well.

Spencer watched as Damaris expertly cut into his mate's abdomen and it was only the fact that he was a vampire and trusted Keziah's sister that he wasn't moving at speed to get this vampire who had cut into his mate away from her. Reid and his inner vampire knew very well that this was necessary, but still they didn't like to see their mate in such pain, but they also knew that they would go through this again whenever Keziah got pregnant, even if that wasn't for 10 years or more.

Damaris used the knife that was made out of a vampire's fingernails as it was the only known substance other than their fangs that would cut into a vampire stonelike skin with ease and giving her blood afterwards would seal up the incision in no time. Once Damaris had a long enough incision she held it upon with one hand while she extracted the second baby with the other.

"It's a girl!" Damaris exclaimed cutting the umbilical cord with the scissors she had brought before handing the little girl to her father who cradled her gently kiss and her tiny forehead.

I have a daughter, Reid thought joyfully.

As Damaris brought another of his children out of his mate's stomach through the incision Reid passed his daughter to one of Keziah's and Damaris's brothers whose name was Adam.

"It's a boy!" Damaris announced, after cutting the umbilical cord.

Less than a minute later the last child was born and it turned out to be another girl.

"Are you okay, love?" Reid asked his mate in genuine concern.

"I'll be okay," Keziah promised weakly, "once I get a lot of blood that is."

"I'll see to it right way," Reid promised, as he accepted his second daughter from Damaris.

"The family downstairs knows what to do for these infants make sure they get fed their own blood from bottles, so I shouldn't have to do anything. They've been waiting just as eagerly for the birth as I have."

"A baby is always a special event and quadruplets are even moreso," Damaris agreed as she started cleaning up. "My nieces and nephews are going to beating the little girls and boys off with sticks in a year or two, as I can already tell that they're going to be heartbreakers. Of course, with the vampire genes that's to be expected."

"Personally, I think that they're most gorgeous children in the world," Reid said with a grin and Keziah for her part nodded in agreement.

"Do you two want me to remove Keziah's uterus so she won't get pregnant again for awhile as long as I have this open incision or do you want me to leave it in place?"

"What do you think, love?" Reid asked his mate. "It's your decision."

"No, don't do it," Keziah told her sister, shaking her head negatively, "as I want at least a few more children before I get my uterus removed. I know it's rather unlikely that I'll get pregnant again within five years, but you never know and if I do, I do and if I don't, I don't. We'll just leave it up to the will of God, shall we?"

"And that decision is fine with me as it'll be seven years before our quads are grown and if we happen to have more I won't object, as I grew up with nine siblings after all and was a quad myself."

"Alright then," Damaris agreed having expected that decision.

"I'll be back with that blood," Reid promised, "I'm sure some has already been prepared and put in the fridge, so all I'll likely need to do is heat it up for a few seconds to warm it up."

Reid left the room by the open door and headed downstairs at vampire speed.

~~~Unexpected Bonds~~~


	14. Chapter 14

Part 14

"So how's Reid doing?" Morgan inquired of Hotch and Emily as the team was flying back from New York.

It was several months after Reid had been turned into a vampire and every week Hotch gave the team news about how Reid was doing as they were all concerned for their youngest member, even Rossi who had only known Reid for about a year when he had left to be turned into a vampire. Hotch had even brought pictures of the quadruplets and the three women on the team had really admired how adorable Reid's and Keziah's children were, while even Dave and Morgan thought they were extremely adorable, although they said nothing.

"He's fine and getting a handle on the enhanced strength, hearing, eyesight and sense of smell. It's mainly the strength that he's learning to control, because at the shifter he already had those other attributes I mentioned, although they're much more enhanced as a vampire, which will take awhile to get used to," Hotch said.

"So far though, he's doing really well, as are his three siblings. In another month or so they're going to try going out among the mortals like to the park where there isn't many people, as he or any of his siblings will ever be part of society again if they don't learn to control their bloodlust. Right now Spencer and his siblings are only around other vampires, so they need exposure to mortals, so that they can slowly get used to being around them again," Emily said.

"He's fine, but the toughest part is always learning to control your bloodlust around mortals and is especially tough for the first few years, although after that it gets easier. In a lot of ways people born vampires have it much easier," Hotch added.

"When can we see him?" JJ asked. "Even if that's over something like Skype."

"I'm not sure when," Hotch admitted. "He's doing remarkably well, but I'll have to ask Keziah when she thinks he'll be ready to talk to any of you, even if that's over the internet."

"Does he even remember us?" asked JJ plaintively.

"Of course, he does," Emily promised her friend. "He didn't remember any of you for the first couple of weeks or at least not much, but he's got most of his memories back now, both the good and the bad."

Dave said nothing as the conversation continued, but he knew very well that JJ had been very concerned for the man that she considered a brother and only seeing him face-to-face, even if that was over the internet was going to assuage that worry. He and JJ had gotten much closer in the last few months in fact so close that they were nearing the time when he was sure JJ was going to tell him that she was ready to complete the bond and he sincerely couldn't wait for that day. It had been just over a year already and he wasn't sure how he held out for so long only that he had, although it hadn't exactly been easy and in fact it had been pure torture, but he had done it. He had never had such a long dry spell when it came to the sexual act before, because he usually had sex at least several times a week, if not every day, depending on the situation. JJ was driving him absolutely crazy, but he also understood that his mate was just being cautious, because of what had happened between her and that bastard Will, who he would love to hunt down and kill, but since that would likely ruin his chances with JJ he hadn't actually done so.

"We sure could have used him on the last case," Emily said and the others including Dave nodded in agreement.

"Yes, we could have," Morgan immediately agreed, "it was the kind of case that's was right up Reid's alley."

"Well, hopefully, in another few months he'll be back with us," JJ said. "He's only been gone three months, but I miss him like crazy, especially since I'm used to seeing him almost every day, all day."

"At least work keeps us busy enough, that we don't think about Reid constantly," Morgan commented. "I know that pretty boy had to do this, as does Garcia and everyone else, but that doesn't mean that all of us don't miss him."

"That's the truth," Emily said. "I know I haven't known him as long as you guys, but I miss him to."

"He really does have a flair for geographical profiling, a flair I wish I had," Rossi admitted.

"We all miss Reid, but he'll be back soon enough," Hotch said. "I'll check if he's ready to talk to you over the internet," he promised JJ who nodded in thanks. "I'll also make sure to keep you all updated how he's doing, as I talk to one of my siblings who's helping out at least once a week or so."

"So how are their sons and daughters doing?" JJ asked.

Keziah had had quads just a month or so ago.

Hotch gave a genuine smile at that, "My nieces and nephews are fine and growing like weeds, but then all vampire children do, even ones that are only half, as the vampire genes are definitely dominate over the shifter ones. By the time you actually meet them they'll probably look as if they're at least five years old and their intelligence will be even more advanced. If the shit-eating grin that Reid's been wearing ever since their birth is any indication he's very happy with his life at the moment."

"Who wouldn't he be?" Morgan commented with a grin. "He has four beautiful children and from the pictures you keep showing us they are going to be heartbreakers once they are all grown up."

"Besides, we've always known that he wanted a family and now he has one," JJ added. "Spence, will be a great father."

"I was surprised to learn and that Reid had gotten Keziah impregnated before they officially tied the knot as he's the one that believes in weddings and marriage," Morgan commented.

"Even Reid can forget to use a condom on accident and it only takes one time," said Emily, "despite Keziah being a vampire. Besides, you love your mate so much that you don't often think about using protection and just want to make love for hours. Reid may be very self-contained, but he's no different I'm sure in that way when it comes to his relationship with his mate."

"Mates, just want to make love all the time and at least Reid will no longer have to sleep which is a very big advantage, as he's not wasting 6 to 8 hours every night," Rossi said.

JJ looked at him as she know that that message was partly for her benefit. She had been putting off telling him that she had fallen in love with him, but she figured she had tortured Dave long enough. It had taken her a long time to realize that she loved him, but for the last few months she had known, but she had said nothing. However, she had seen the pain in Dave's eyes on more than one occasion over the last few months and she figured it was time she put him out of his misery. Dave despite apparently being a ladies man in the past wasn't one now if only because he couldn't be sexually attracted to anyone but her. She had never caught his eyes straying even once. She admitted that she had been very suspicious and wary of David Rossi for the first few months, but he had proved again and again that he was an honest, compassionate, kind and forthright individual who truly cared for her and her sons and hadn't let himself become detached from the world like she had heard so many vampires did. The two of them had been out on quite a few dates in their free time and on some of them Henry and Michael were even invited along, which definitely earned him mega bonus points.

JJ now knew that Dave genuinely loved her and and her sons and she was going to tell him she had fallen in love with him just as soon as they had a few minutes alone. It wasn't that she didn't want the rest of the team to know, just that they didn't need to learn of her revelation until Dave did.

JJ closed her eyes as she was suddenly very tired and she was asleep a moment later not even noticing when she automatically leaned into Dave's shoulder.

"I do believe, that you're about to get the response you've been hoping for over a year now," said Hotch quietly, as he watched his teammate lean into his old mentor shoulder. "I believe our JJ has gone and fallen in love with you and that it's only been recently that she's admitted it to herself."

"I surely hope so, because how I've lasted so long is beyond me," Rossi admitted, as he gently made JJ more comfortable, so that she wouldn't wake up with a crick in her neck.

"You've lasted so long no matter how painful its been, so you could give JJ a chance to know you and for her to see that you truly do love her and her sons," Emily told Dave.

"Ever since she and Will broke up she's been very cautious about relationships and I can hardly blame her," Morgan added. "She just doesn't want to get into another bad situation that's all. We all knew, although she didn't say anything to us, that it was likely she discovered that Will LaMontagne had cheated on her, as that would be the only thing I could think of that would throw her off dating entirely and not at least tell the father about his sons."

"He did cheat on her, she told me," Rossi admitted, "so I don't really blame her for being cautious. However, that doesn't mean it hasn't been hard to wait, although I do admit it's been easier simply because we work together every day. If we didn't it would have been impossible for me to wait so long, as me being near her for so many hours has been enough for me, so far."

"It's still been painful just not as much as it could have been," Emily suggested sympathetically.

"Yes, that's the truth and it's always difficult for a vampire to get together with a human or a magical, at least if they're given a choice, because that human or magical can't feel the bond that that vampire shares with them, so it's up to the vampire in question to make that human fall in love with them at least if they don't want to force the issue and have considerable patience," Rossi said. "I truly hope you're right about her feelings, as the sooner we complete the bond the happier I'll be, even if she doesn't get changed into a vampire for at least a couple of years."

"I am," Hotch promised his old friend, not unsympathetically. The fact was that he more than sympathized with Dave's position, quite a lot actually, as he was not unaware how lucky he had been that Emily had already been a vampire when they had met and had been born one just like he had. "I've known JJ for a long time, as you know and the reason you haven't noticed the signs is you're just too close to the situation, so you missed the fact that she has fallen in head over heels in love with you."

That statement made Dave happier than he had been in months, as he knew that Aaron wouldn't lie to him, at least not about something so important.

"Hopefully, you'll be up to complete the bond soon," Emily added softly, as she had noticed JJ's heartbeat was speeding up which meant that she was waking up.

Dave and everybody else took the hint and stopped talking about that particular subject, as they didn't want JJ to be upset that they had been talking about her, even if it was with her best interests in mind.

"Have a nice nap?" Rossi asked his mate gently.

"Yeah, yeah, I did," JJ said sounding incredibly groggy.

"You needed it, as we have been up a lot in the last few days," Morgan told his friend sympathetically. "We really haven't had much sleep in 72 hours or so."

"It's a times like this I really envy not being a vampire, so that being sleep deprived doesn't affect me," JJ said then realized a few seconds later what she had said and blushed.

Dave said nothing and gently had JJ back to leaning on his shoulder and refused to let her move for the rest of the flight, something that JJ was incredibly grateful for.

~~~Unexpected Bonds~~~

"Dave, I've fallen in love with you," JJ announced as soon as she and Dave had entered her apartment.

It was several hours after they had deplaned and after they had gone back to Quantico and done a lot of the paperwork involved after every case JJ had invited Dave to her place.

Dave had immediately agreed, though this was not the first time that he had been to her apartment that had two bedrooms, one for her and one for her twin sons.

"Does that mean you'll agree to complete the bond," Rossi asked trying not to seem to eager, as he had been waiting for this day for what seemed like forever and he had truly feared it would never come and he would be forced to change his mate against her will.

"Yes, it does, but I'm going to set a couple of ground rules first," JJ began. "I'll agree to be changed into a vampire, but not for at least three or four years, as we need to give Strauss time. I also want to give Henry and Michael a chance to grow up a little bit more before l'll agree to such a major change in my life, but also their lives. I admit I had my doubts about you, but you have truly become their father in the year or so they've known you and they adore you, which is another major point in your favor as you know my sons come first—always."

"I'll handle Strauss," Rossi promised, "although I do agree that we don't need to change you right away, so long as we complete the bond I'll be happy—for now. As for Henry and Michael you know I love children and it doesn't matter whether or not that they're biologically mine. Besides, they're the sons of my mate and there was no way I wasn't going to get close to them, even though I know that in less than a hundred years, unless they agree to be changed, they'll be dead. However, I know that's just the natural order of things, not that it won't hurt us if the two of them decide to remain human."

"Also I would like to get married sometime soon, although it can wait until after Spencer and Keziah and Emily and Hotch have their weddings," JJ said. "You also get to tell my mother exactly what's going to happen and she probably won't be happy, but I know it's necessary and that it would happen anyway, with or without my agreement. I certainly appreciate that you've been incredibly patient with me and did your best to get rid of my doubts, doubts that bastard Will left me with."  
"Believe me, I want nothing more than to go tear William LaMontagne into little teeny bits, or at least tear his dick off and stuff it down his throat," Rossi told JJ vehemently. "I haven't done so, if only because he's a cop and he'd be missed and we don't need that kind of trouble."

"While I appreciate the sentiment, there's no need to go all chivalrous on me and go beat Will up. I'm not saying he doesn't deserve it, because yes, he hurt me, and made me doubt I would be able to ever get close to another man again, at least not that way. Besides, I was more upset with myself that I didn't spot the signs that he was cheating on me until we'd already been dating for quite awhile. It made me doubt myself at least when it came to men and dating."

"That's no excuse," Rossi exclaimed looking outraged on JJ behalf.

"I didn't say it was," JJ said, even as she kissed Dave on the lips which he accepted immediately. "Just that it was an explanation, as to why I was so wary of men in general, except those I counted as friends and dating in particular. However, you changed that and you were incredibly patient with me and my doubts, which I know couldn't have been easy for you."

"It wasn't, but now that you've agreed to complete the bond with me everything else can be dealt with over time," Rossi said downplaying exactly how much agony he had been in for over a year, he didn't want to upset Jennifer. Working beside his mate every day had certainly helped the situation.

"I'm ready to complete the bond right this minute since the boys are out of the house and staying with a neighbor until tomorrow," JJ said. "By the time we got done with most of the paperwork involved it was much too late to go and get them as we would've woken them up."

"Something I'll be grateful for forever," Rossi said, as he swept Jennifer up into his arms carrying her easily towards the master bedroom.

JJ just laughed not at all surprised at Dave's reactions, as she had gotten to know him pretty well over the last year, though she realized that she still had quite a bit to learn about him.

"It's a good thing that tomorrow is Saturday as I intend to make love to you all night with short naps for you in between," Rossi promised her in a sensual tone of voice. "I've been waiting way too long to show you how much I love you and I will love you for the rest of my centuries on this Earth, this I swear to you. There will never be anyone else for me."

"If I didn't already know that, I never would have agreed for us to make love so that we can complete the bond," JJ told him, even as she buried her head in the side of his neck, placing kisses along where his pulse point should be, if Dave had had a beating heart that is. She didn't even care that his skin was ice cold or that it was as hard as stone as she knew in a few short years she would be just like him and that she to would take on these attributes and then Dave's skin would seem normal to her.

"You better stop that or I'm going to make love to you right here instead of on the bed," Dave growled having trouble controlling himself, as his, Jennifer's scent was driving him absolutely wild with desire and the kisses she was placing along his neck didn't help the situation.

JJ just giggled at him a sound very unlike her, but stopped kissing the side of his neck as Dave carried her into the master bedroom.

"For tonight this place will do, but I own a house as you know and I hope you'll moving in there with me as soon as you can," Rossi said.

"I'll be happy to move me and the boys to your place, as its much bigger than my small apartment and has a nice backyard for Henry and Michael to be able to run and play, which is something you can't get with an apartment," JJ immediately agreed.

Dave was extremely happy with his mate's response and helped her get out of her clothes, so that he wouldn't rip them from her body and then showed her exactly how grateful he was to have her in his life.

When the bond between Jennifer Jareau and David Rossi finally completed sometime later it was such a beautiful and gorgeous thing that both basked in the afterglow of their lovemaking, before JJ curled up against the stone cold form of David Rossi and dropped off into sleep, totally exhausted, but also as sated and satisfied, as she had been in a very long time.

Dave for his part simply held this beautiful creature that was his mate and that was now his for the rest of his existence and he couldn't help thanking every god he could think of for this miracle. All he could think about was that his old friend had been right and he was so glad that he was.

~~~Unexpected Bonds~~~

"Congratulations you two," Hotch told Dave and JJ first thing on Monday morning.

"Thank you, Hotch," JJ said blushing a little, as she squeezed Dave's hand lovingly.

"So I hope I'm not going to lose another member of the team at least for awhile," Hotch mentioned.

"We agreed to wait a few years," Rossi promised. "So long as Jennifer and I are together then I'm happy. She will be going through the transformation, but probably not for three or four years."

"Good, because Strauss is steaming mad, not that it bothers me, as she doesn't have a leg to stand on and she knows it, but I'd still rather not have to deal with it," Hotch said. "It's not that I can't, as I've been dealing with her for years already, it's just that I'd rather not."

"Dave promised to deal with Strauss," JJ told Hotch.

"I did," Rossi immediately agreed, "and I will when the time comes, but until then we're going to keep our relationship as quiet as possible as there is no reason to give Strauss the heads up on what's going on just so she can be a pain in the ass as she'd just do something to be vindictive like bury us in busywork. We've kept the fact that we are mates from her for over a year, although I admit that we weren't together, sexually until this weekend, so as long as we act normally in the office, she'll never know."

"Alright then, I'll help where I can," Hotch said, "and I know that the rest of the team will agree. Also Emily has finally picked day for our wedding, but it is done in such a way that it can be canceled and a new date picked at a moment's notice just in case we are out town or something that weekend."

"Oh, good, I love weddings," JJ exclaimed excitedly, "and that it's for two people that I consider part of my family just makes it extra special."

"Well, that's good because I know Emily wants you to be one of the bridesmaids," Hotch said. "The wedding will be fairly large if we can manage to pull it off, but that's just because all my siblings will want to attend."

"I'll be happy to," JJ said.

"And Dave I want you to be the best man," Hotch said.

"Glad to," Rossi immediately agreed truly happy for his longtime protégé and friend.

"I hope you're not going to have your wedding before Reid get's back," JJ said, looking worried.

"No, because Emily and I both want Reid and Keziah there along with their children, of course and I would never have this ceremony without as many members of my family as can make it."

"So when is the ceremony going to be?" Rossi asked.

"Not for almost a year as we need to give Reid time to get control of his bloodlust and so forth," Hotch said. "He's doing a pretty good job of doing that, but he's only been gone for a few months so he has quite a ways to go."

"Yes, that's true," Rossi agreed with a nod. "So long as Reid is determined to get control of his bloodlust and is extremely stubborn it shouldn't be too hard for him."

"What does determination and stubbornness have to do with it?" JJ asked.

"Well, when you're turned into a vampire," Rossi begin to explain, "its like having an inner child that doesn't know what's good for it and can take you over and do something you don't want, like draining a human dry, which is a very bad idea as you know. In order to prevent this a good dose of stubbornness and determination is required, because if you're all wishy-washy it takes a lot longer to learn that control, as your inner child thinks it knows better than you do. It will take time for that part of you to learn that there are dangerous people or things in the world and that he or she could meet their death if they don't learn control. The vampire community puts to death any vampire that kills a human if it's ever found out, even if that was an accident, unless of course, it's somebody like a bum that isn't going to be noticed if they go missing. The reason they do this, as I'm sure you can guess, is because if the vampires don't take care of the situation then they would be hunted down by the other two species on this planet and that's only if you count magicals the same as humans, just with extra powers. Yes, we're invulnerable and extremely hard to kill, but so long as you know what you're doing, it's possible."

"There is a rather uneasy truce between vampires and the other threes species, if you count magicals as a separate species and more often than not that uneasiness is just below the surface and has caused numerous incidents," Hotch added.

"Really, it's no different than humans hating humans or shifters," JJ said and the two men agreed.

"That's true enough, but a lot of times people will kill a vampire just for being what they are, if they can catch that vampire by surprise that is, which is not an easy thing to do, although not impossible or anything," Rossi said. "I have to admit that the tensions between vampires, shifters, magicals and humans hasn't been as bad in the last two or three hundred years, as they used to be much worse. But it wouldn't take much for those inbred hatreds to erupt again, so it's just better that our species don't give the other three any reason."

"Luckily, thanks to that artificial blood it's a lot harder to tell who's a vampire nowadays and has been for the last hundred years, but still it pays to be cautious," Hotch said.

JJ could only agree with that for she had worked with a vampire for years and then another two for a much shorter time, but she loved all three of them just in different ways. In a few months her brother in all but blood would be back and he too would be a vampire and it would only be a few years before she'd be going through the transformation herself, something she had already agreed to. The team would then consist of mostly of vampires except for Morgan and Garcia. This amazed JJ, as before they had been a pretty even mixture of human, vampire, shifter and magicals, but then Gideon had left, though she wasn't sure if that was because a close friend of his had been killed. Or because Reid, a young man Gideon considered a son, was going to go through the transformation to become a vampire against his advice that things had changed.

The official reason though was because a close female friend of his, one he'd known since his college days had been murdered, but JJ had her doubts that this was the real reason, although it had probably at least played a major part in Gideon's decision.

"So do you think you're pregnant?" Hotch asked JJ and Dave, JJ immediately blushing at the implication.

"I wouldn't be surprised considering," Rossi said, "as I didn't even think about using protection and a human or a shifter is a lot easier to get pregnant even for a vampire then two vampires together who don't usually get pregnant easily, well mostly," Rossi added. He though of Aaron and Emily, as Emily had gotten pregnant right away that first weekend they had bonded, but then again Emily was also half magical, which probably had a lot to do with it. Of course, most vampires weren't mates either and so didn't make love as frequently or stay with the same partner so that had a lot to do with it as well.

"I wouldn't be surprised," Rossi said and JJ blushed at discussing such a private topic with her boss, but she had learned over the years that most vampires that were as old as Hotch and especially Dave were had very few personal boundaries and would be willing to discuss just about any subject with you without getting embarrassed or thinking that it was off-limits.

"I really wouldn't be surprised if it was twins again, considering that she's already had twins once so that makes her more susceptible to having them again," Rossi said.

"There's no need to be embarrassed, JJ," Hotch told his subordinate with a genuine smile. "Having children is a very natural topic for most vampires, especially between two of them because a lot of times vampires have trouble getting pregnant and our species think it's the fact that technically we're undead. That we can have children at all is a wondrous thing to us and it tends to be easier when there's only one vampire involved instead of two. Believe me, when I say if you are pregnant, Dave will probably shout it from the rooftops, as you are his mate after all and therefore, any children you have together will be extra special then if he had them with some female who wasn't. A lot of our kind love their children, treasure and revere them, but just like any other species there are those that have them just because they are a way to carry on the family name or because they can or they just don't care about using protection."

"Once you're a vampire and have a century or two under your belt the discussion of children will not be so embarrassing to you," Rossi added, as he put it around his mate's waist.

"It's not the discussion of children that's embarrassing, it's a discussion in front of the man who is my boss even if he's also a good friend. If I was discussing this subject with Penny or Emily for instance I wouldn't be so embarrassed," JJ tried her best to explain her views on the subject. "After all the only way to get children is to be intimate with somebody else and that's the part that's embarrassing."

"I understand, believe me, I do," Hotch told JJ gently with a smile, "but the union between two mates is a very special event for us, so of course, Dave is going want to discuss it with his very good friend who he's known for quite a few decades. The reason that having children with your mate or even being intimate as you put it is a topic that is open for discussion among out kind is because a vampire very rarely finds their mate as it only happens on extremely infrequent occasions, at least usually. That I, Dave, Emily, Reid, Keziah and you have all found their mates within such a short timeframe, well that's practically a historic event in itself. Yes, you can't feel the bond you have with Dave, but you will once you're turned into a vampire yourself, even if that's not an event that's going to happen for a few years. Never doubt for a moment that you are the one for him and that he'll always be loyal to you. I for one have rarely seen Dave happier this last year, even though you had yet to complete the bond until this past weekend."

JJ hadn't thought of it that way, but then again she supposed that a vampire's perspective was unique, since they were practically immortal, and although they could be killed it was extremely difficult to do so.

She loved Dave so much, and now she knew that Dave truly did love her, Hotch had just confirmed it and she trusted his word. She was certainly glad she had finally put Dave out of his misery and completed the bond that she knew he could feel, even if she could not, at least at the moment. Also apparently a vampire finding their mate whether that was human, shifter, magical or another vampire wasn't a common occurrence, even though several of her teammates had found their mates one right after the other, including herself. JJ supposed it made sense considering how many billions of people there were in the world, but still it was kind of sad to think of all those vampires being lonely even if they hooked up with temporary sexual partners or just as friends with benefits.

"I never thought of it that way, but I guess that if finding your mate is a rare event than having a child by then would indeed be special," JJ said.

"Definitely," Hotch and Dave said at the same time causing the JJ to giggle a sound that caused a shiver of delight to go through Dave, as he just loved the way his Jennifer giggled when she was happy, as it was such a musical sound.

"If you are indeed pregnant we'll soon know as you'll start show within a few days," Dave said.

"I actually hope I am, although I'm not looking forward to going on maternity leave after the babies are born."

"Yes, unfortunately, you're not going to heal as fast as vampire female would," Rossi said sympathetically. "Also for this baby to be born safely, even if it's a singleton or if you are indeed carrying twins you're going to have to have a c-section either way, because pretty soon you're going to be on bed rest for at least the last month, simply because a vampire child grows incredibly fast. If you don't take it extremely easy then it's very possible that your pelvis will break or at least crack, because these children will be incredibly strong even in the womb. They are half vampire after all and they can cause you incredible bodily damage on the inside, which would mean that I would be turning you into a vampire immediately if that were to occur instead of waiting. As much as I love the thought of having children with you I won't lose you."

"What about having a c-section a week before I'm due," JJ suggested. "They should be far enough along at that point they should still be born healthy, even if the gestation period is only two months."

"You know I was just about to suggest that," Hotch said, "as it has been done in the past and JJ might have to be out for a few weeks, but it's better than risking her life."

"Yes, that's a good idea," Rossi said looking relieved that there was a solution, although it had never occurred to him, but that was likely because he had been cut off from advances in technology for the last few decades at least and even when he had been a member of the BAU, before he had retired he hadn't really paid attention to that kind of thing.

"Of course, this discussion is mute if JJ isn't pregnant, but considering I know what making love with your mate is like the possibility is at least over 85 or 90% in my estimation and if Reid was here I'm sure he could give you the exact statistics."

"Definitely," JJ agreed not seeming at all worried about the information she had just received, but that was likely because she knew that her boss had already come up with the solution. Being out on maternity leave due to having a c-section was a lot better then being in incredible pain because her pelvis was cracked or worse broken as she knew very well it took a long time for that type of injury to heal and that was only if Dave didn't immediately turn her into a vampire. "I wouldn't be surprised if he could give us exact numbers down to the decimal point."

"First we'll have to know if she's pregnant or not and those pregnancy tests aren't going to work on her, simply because if she is pregnant that child or children will be half vampire, so we're going to have to wait a week to know for sure. After this though if she is indeed carrying our child I'm going to have to remember to use a condom every single time as I'm sure JJ won't want to get pregnant again at least for awhile."

"Definitely not, as I don't want to be out for another four to six weeks, as that's how long it will take the incisions from the c-section to heal," JJ immediately agreed. "Now after I'm turned into a vampire it'll be different because I'll be able to come back to work the very next day and won't have to take maternity leave at all unless I want to."

"Yes, that is one of the advantages of being a vampire as they heal incredibly quickly from any injury so long as they have plenty of blood," Hotch agreed. "Emily was just as happy to get back to work the very next day after our triplets were born as you seem to be."

"We are just two women that don't do well playing housewives or being soccer moms," JJ said. "Some women like that kind a thing just taking care of their family, but I'm definitely not one of them. I like to keep busy, and just watching the soaps or grocery shopping or cleaning house isn't enough to do that. Yes, I know I have Henry and Michael and perhaps, this new baby to think of, but as much as I love them and like to spend time with them when I'm not working I'd still be driven insane with boredom in no time. In the past being a housewife was really the only option, especially before World War II where woman entered the workplace as more then librarians or teachers or secretaries. Hell, they couldn't even vote before 1921."

"Well, I never known you to be so passionate or that you even knew about this kind of thing," Hotch said with a twitch of his lips.

"I've never liked the fact that a lot of men try to suppress women or treat them as second-class citizens, but since you've never done that and treated me as a true member of the team from the first of course, you haven't seen this side of me. I wasn't treated like a gofer in other words getting coffee and so forth and you actually listened to my opinion unlike so many men I knew as a child or in college. I always thought that because you were born in a time where females were the property of the males, whether that was their father their brother, their cousin, their nephew or their uncle that you would treat any females on the team the same, but you don't."

"I've had too many strong females in my life that are just as capable of just about anything that a male can do," Hotch told JJ. "Besides, you can't live as long as Dave and I have and not see the world changing around you and that if you keep a certain kind of attitude then you will be shunned by some people anyway. Personally, I felt the woman's revolution was a long time in coming and it took a world war in order for it to take hold."

"Yes, that's true and in a lot of ways and in a lot of professions women are still treated as second-class citizens and they get paid less, then a man does no matter how capable they are," JJ said.

"It's not fair, but things are slowly changing," Rossi said entering the conversation again. "It might be another century or two before women are truly equal in every way, but it will happen."

"And I'll be there to see it occur," JJ said excited about the possibility.

"Also you must take into consideration that women are treated much worse in places like Russia, or Egypt and so you should be grateful that you live in the good old US of A," Rossi added.

"Yes, that's true that a lot of those third world countries women are treated like chattel," JJ agreed. "You know I've been thinking that having half vampire children seems a bit dangerous, even if there is a solution to the problem, so if I'm having Dave's and my child in the next couple of months I won't be having anymore at least until after I'm turned into a vampire," JJ said.

Hotch wasn't surprised at the change in subject as he knew that JJ could switch a subject in seconds flat if she wanted to, as it was her way of telling people that the previous conversation was finished and had stopped Morgan for example from butting into her personal life on more than one occasion. Dave had also experienced this phenomenon, so he also wasn't surprised.

"For a human or actually anyone who is mortal yes, it could be dangerous, but mostly that was in the past because c-sections haven't been common practice for all that long where the woman in question actually survived. Human medical technology in the last 30 or 40 years alone has improved by leaps and bounds, which is why it's now relatively safe for a mortal no matter the species to have a vampire's children. Before the c-section became common practice the mortality rate was quite high and in fact a vampire turning a mortal into what they were usually only happened if they were mates. Nowadays the mortality rate has dropped quite significantly and is no more dangerous then having a regular baby just so long as precautions are taken."

"Like getting a c-section a week in advance," Rossi suggested.

"Exactly," Hotch agreed, "although I would say that no more then maybe four days is necessary as you want to give those babies is much time in JJ's stomach as possible."

"All right you don't even know if I'm pregnant, so we can stop discussing the subject until we know if I am not, which we will in a week or so," JJ suggested in a form tone. "I'll admit is is likely that I am considering it only takes one time and I'm not infertile like a lot of women. I've never had trouble getting pregnant as Henry and Michael should prove. I would like to request that neither of you mention this to the rest of the team except Emily," JJ conceded, as she considered that Emily was Hotch's mate and he didn't like to keep things from her, as that wasn't good for any relationship mates or not.

"I agree," Dave agreed immediately, as there was no point of announcing something until they were sure.

"It's not my secret to tell," Hotch said, "but thanks for including Emily, because as you know I don't like to keep stuff from her, but if you requested then I would until you were ready to tell the whole team."

"Emily can keep a secret until I'm ready to reveal it," JJ said, "and I know that's it's not good to keep secrets from your mate, even if that's only for short time. We'll know in a week one way or the other and likely less than that depending on when I actually got pregnant as it could have been Friday evening and today is Monday."

"So it'll likely only be three or four days before we know," Rossi said catching on immediately.

"Yeah, if I figure I'll start showing in four days top if I got pregnant on Friday since I'm not exactly a big busted woman like Garcia is as she would start showing later, simply because she's shaped differently."

"I suppose I had better get to my office and JJ to hers," Rossi said finally incredibly reluctantly.

"I know it's going to be hard for the first year or two to be away from your mate, even if you will still see each other multiple times day," Hotch said sympathetically. "It's still hard for me to be away from Emily, although I know that'll die down in a couple more years."

"Well, at least we work together and our offices are right next to each other so it likely won't be as hard as it would be for some vampires who don't have the same type jobs. I know part of that reluctance is that Jennifer and I have just completed our bond and we haven't been apart at all in those three days, as we've been together every second, so it's going to be extremely difficult to be parted from her for hours."

"We can go to lunch together if you like, even I know you technically don't have to eat," JJ suggested with a smile kissing his cheek.

"That's sounds great," Rossi immediately accepted, "if we're not on the jet flying somewhere."

"Well, at least we'll be together if we are, instead of in separate offices that are mere feet away from each other," JJ joked and Dave nodded.

"Being together does help," Hotch put in, "so long as Emily and I are sitting together with our legs touching then we're happy, it's being parted from her with her in the bullpen and me in my office that is hard."

"Then I sincerely hope we catch a case," Rossi said fervently. "Filling out paperwork doesn't exactly take much brain power, but if we were working a case then I wouldn't be thinking about JJ so much, as I need to concentrate on helping catch our unsub."

"Yeah, I could fill out most of the paperwork in my sleep if I could actually do that," Hotch agreed. "At least as vampires we can speed read through it and then all we have to do is fill in the appropriate spaces and sign at the bottom and we don't even end up with writer's cramp, no matter how many forms we fill out or reports we write."

"That's certainly a useful talent to have," JJ said enviously. "I've gone home more than once with writer's cramp."

"It's an ability you'll have once you're turned," Rossi told her with a smile that made his whole face light up, as he gazed at the form of his gorgeous mate or at least that was his opinion. But then his was the only one that mattered, as Jennifer was now his for all time. "Of course, you have to learn to write again and not break the pen in half just by touching it or tearing a hole through the form, when you try to write. This is just one of the many skills that our Reid will have to remaster before he can rejoin us at the BAU."

"Learning how to hold bigger objects again will be easier then smaller ones like a pen," Hotch added by way of agreement. "This is partly why it takes at least six months to master your new form and for some it takes longer as it isn't just about learning to control your bloodlust, although that is a very important step in the process."

"Well, it's nice to know what I'm letting myself in for," JJ joked.

"It won't be easy," Rossi told her softly taking her soft hand in his own gently, "but it will be worth it in the end that I promise you, as I'll love you forever. I never actually expected to find my mate, as I figured she or even he had died centuries ago if they'd ever been born in the first place and then I met you at that dinner and I realized immediately that you were the one."

"You should have seen the way Dave's eyes widened in complete shock and how he stood there staring at you for what seemed like forever, but was actually only a few seconds," Hotch chuckled. "In all the years I've known him I've never known David Rossi to be so utterly and completely shocked before."

"Why didn't I notice this?" JJ asked surprised that she had missed so much during that dinner over a year ago now.

"You were busy talking to Garcia, and you and her were very involved in your conversation," Hotch supplied. "I know it isn't very often that you have a chance to socialize with any of the team outside of work and so the two of you were chattering away. You and Garcia were so involved in your conversation that you didn't even notice Dave arrive for over five minutes and by then he had gotten his expression under control."

"Yes," JJ said slowly thinking about it, "you're right Garcia and I did do a lot of talking and Emily joined us after a few minutes."

"And then you spent the rest of the evening talking to Dave after he introduced himself. I could tell that you were already interested, although you tried to pretend that you weren't," Hotch remembered.

"Well, I had just gotten out of one bad relationship three years ago when I didn't want to get involved in another," JJ said. "One bad relationship was more than enough for me. Of course, I didn't know anything about Dave at that time other then he was one of the members that had started the BAU along with Gideon and Mark Ryan and that all three were legends for figuring out how to profile serial killers when others said it couldn't be done."

"You had every right to be cautious no matter how hard it was on me," Dave said giving his mate's hand a squeeze. "I'm just glad that I changed your mind."

"Well, I know you better now than I did just over a year ago," JJ pointed out. "We have spent a lot of time together and in fact about about every spare minute, except when I was actually sleeping or we were working. You've helped me look after my sons and they adore you. That's one of the things that made me want to trust you, as children can often sense when someone is not what they seem to be, yet Henry and Michael took to you instantly."

"Well, then I'm glad they did," Rossi said grinning smugly.

"You should be," JJ teased him grinning at Dave.

"It helps that's I've raised a few children of my own over the centuries." Rossi said shrugging nonchalantly not showing how relieved he was that he'd had that experience and so he had known exactly how to interact with the two three year olds, even though vampire children grew much faster and by the time they were three they acted more like twelve year olds and some even older. "The experience has stood me in good stead."

"Yes, I would say so," JJ agreed smiling at Dave.

Finally both JJ and Dave rose after a few more minutes of conversation and headed out of Hotch's office making sure that they weren't touching in anyway so that no one who didn't need to know about their relationship would find out before they were ready and that especially applied to Erin Strauss.

Once they had closed Hotch's office door both headed to their separate offices not even looking at each other as they both knew they had a part to play, although that would one day end and it couldn't come soon enough for either of them.

~~~Unexpected Bonds~~~


	15. Chapter 15

Part 15

"I'm pregnant!" JJ exclaimed happily, as she looked at herself in the mirror and saw the distinct baby bulge. It was only a couple of days later.

"Yes, I can see that," Rossi said just as happily. "I just knew you were pregnant, considering how much we've made love for those 2 1/2 days with no protection and we would have had even more if you didn't need a certain amount of sleep."

"Well, after this baby is born I plan on going on the pill, which I should've done earlier I'll admit, but it just never occurred to me considering I haven't had any relationships in the last few years."

"Considering it's been less than a week, I figure you're probably carrying twins," Rossi said.

"That's possible, but we'll just have to wait and see," JJ said.

"I should be able to tell and so should Emily or Aaron for that matter, by the time you get to the two week mark just by the size of your stomach and that's only a few days away so it won't be long."

"I'm also slimmer than Emily is so I will start showing sooner than she did or Keziah either for that matter since really she's shaped more like Aaron and while she's slim she's broader at the shoulders and definitely in the hips then I am. Believe me, when I tell you that all these factors do make a difference. I've known some women in the past that didn't start showing their pregnancies until they were very far advanced just because they were bigger boned, while skinnier women like I am tend to show much sooner.

"You're right," Rossi agreed, "I've noticed the same thing over the centuries. Still, I say it's twins until I learn otherwise and I just wish that there was a way that we could tell before you give birth, but ultrasounds don't work..."

"You were about to say that ultrasounds don't work on one of your kind, but I'm completely human," JJ reminded Dave, "so don't you think that's a little different and that the ultrasound will probably work on me at least until I'm changed?"

Dave considered it and then said, "It might, though I'm not sure if it's ever been tried before on a human that's carrying a vampire's children."

"Well then, there's no harm in getting an appointment and seeing if it does work," JJ said and Dave nodded in complete agreement.

"Yes, there is no harm in it, as it certainly won't do you or the child you are carrying any harm," Rossi agreed. "The worst results will be it doesn't show anything because the half vampire children that you are carrying are blocking the ultrasound from working properly partly because they grow so fast and a machine like that isn't built to cope with that kind of thing."

"And the best results is that the ultrasound would tell us how many babies I'm carrying," JJ said. "It might work at this early stage of the pregnancy, but it might not at the later stages, so it's best to get an ultrasound as early as possible and then do it again a week or two later just to see, so that we know one way or the other."

"If an ultrasound does work for the latter stages the doctor will be able to tell when the baby or babies are ready to be born by c-section instead of waiting until you actually go into labor," Rossi said. "This baby might be half human, but they'll be much stronger than human infants, due to their vampire genes and I don't want him or her to crack your pelvis by kicking it too hard, because that means I'll have to change you into a vampire immediately, as it would take much less time to heal an injury like that then if you let it heal naturally."

"So long as I survive it and the baby your babies too of course," JJ said, putting her arms around Dave's neck. "I love you so much and this baby is just an extension of that love. When I got pregnant by Will that was a surprise, but I believed at that time that I loved him, so I really didn't mind. However, what I felt for William LaMontagne and what I feel for you are to totally different emotions, as the feelings I have for you absolutely kick the ones I had for Will out of the ballpark."

"I'm glad to hear that," Rossi said grinning smugly.

"However, my mother isn't going to be happy that I'm going to be turned into a vampire at some point whether or not I agreed to it," JJ said.

"I do believe that you're old enough to make your own decisions as you are over 30," said Rossi, "and your mother is just going to have to accept the situation it if she expects to have access to her grandchildren."

"Oh, I would never not allow her to see her grandchildren no matter how much she disapproves, as she lost my older sister Rosaline years ago, as she committed suicide and my father died several years ago, so now it's just her, me, Henry, Michael and this child or children that have yet to be born," JJ said playing with a delicate gold necklace that usually hid under her shirt. "I remember that Rosaline came to my room and she gave me her necklace, which I had always secretly coveted and told me that I could have it and I was too young back then to know what she was going to do. I was very innocent and naïve, but then I was only a child so that's understandable. I remember protesting that it was her favorite necklace and that I couldn't take it, but she insisted and so I did. The very next day she was found dead in her room and neither I or my parents had any idea that she was incredibly depressed, which can often lead to suicide. Depression wasn't as well known back then as it is today and since I was only 13 years old I had no idea what my sister was going to do, as I had missed all the signs. My parents never recovered from their daughter's death, my father in particular and mom and I believe that the weight of my sister's Rosaline's death finally caught up with him and caused him to die much sooner than he should have as he was in good health."

"I'm really sorry that happened to you," Rossi told his mate sincerely. "There could've been any number of things wrong with your sister, that weren't as identifiable back then as they are today. It might very well have been depression, but it could've been something else as sometimes something just breaks in a mortal deep inside that is unfixable no matter how hard you try. That's probably what happened to your sister, though I admit that depression likely contributed as well. Sometimes this happens to vampires as well, although it's a very rare occurrence and that vampire's usually put to death before they can start to cause havoc. The death of their mate can do it for example, no matter the circumstances. I will promise you this now that if we have a daughter we will name her Rosaline after your sister and if we have just boys this time then there's always next time."

JJ burst into tears at that, although these were not tears of sadness, but of happiness as her sister's name would live on in their family.

"Thank you Dave, it means a lot to me that my sister's name is going to going to live on in our family. I always thought that if I ever had a daughter that's what I would name her in honor of my sister."

"You're more than welcome," Rossi said, as he comforted his mate gently knowing that he had made her very happy with his promise and so the tears were not of the grief-stricken variety, but of happiness and relief. Dave very much doubted that Jennifer had ever truly grieved over her sister's death, so this was likely needed, even if it had happened almost twenty years ago. Dave knew that when you loved somebody deeply that the grief never really left you, even if it's lessened after awhile and you didn't think about that person nearly as much as you had when they had first passed away.

"You know I've never told anybody about the death of my sister before, as it's been kind of a secret between me and my mother, ever since dad passed away," JJ said. "The reason I never said anything is it was a private thing and a lot of people don't know how to respond when they learn that a friend of theirs had someone they were close to commit suicide, but I knew that you would understand."

"And I do," Rossi told her gently holding JJ close, "as I've had several people over the centuries that I grew close to and that committed suicide, even it was much more of a sin back in those days then it is now. If you committed suicide back even a hundred years ago you were buried on unconsecrated ground and it was believed that your spirit would never get to heaven as the ground wasn't blessed. It was also believed you would never get to hell either and that you were stuck on this earth unable to interact with it, but able to watch as other's lived their lives, who really knows?"

"Who knows if it's true or not?" JJ said, as her tears finally dried. "After all vampires, shifters and magicals are real, so why not ghosts? After all shifters are basically humans that can change into one form whether that's a wolf, some form of cat or anything in between."

"And vampires are also basically human and it is unknown how we came to be, just that we've been around for thousands of years. It's very possible that's why a human is able to have a vampire's or a shifter's babies and vice versa, because we're basically the same race just with mutations and therefore, compatible."

"It doesn't really matter to me," JJ said. "All I know is that I love you with every fiber of my soul. I love you so much that I'm agreeing on my own free will to be changed into a vampire, even if that's not for a few years. If I didn't love you so much then there is no way I would agree to be turned into a vampire, even though I know the issue would be forced if I didn't."

"Well, luckily, I'm not to have to force the issue and I'm glad you made the decision on your own," Rossi said sincerely. "I would have forced the issue because I would know that once you were a vampire you would feel the bond that I share with you, even if you don't right now, because humans or magicals for that matter aren't born with the capability to feel them, although why this is when both shifters and vampires can is unknown."

"I know I'll feel what you do once I'm turned, but that won't be for awhile so why don't we forget it and headed to the bedroom, before our two little boys wake up and demand our attention."

"That's fine with me," Rossi said lifting JJ off her feet without any trouble and racing to the bedroom that was upstairs and down a short hallway.

JJ had given up her small apartment without a qualm and Dave had helped her move all her and her children's things into his big house that had more than 20 bedrooms, which meant that there was plenty of room for children, but JJ had no intention of having enough children at one time to fill every bedroom, although she would like some more someday. She intended to space them years apart, even if she had twins every time, as there was no way she would fill every bedroom, even if that's what Dave wanted. She had no intention of being a broodmare only good for having multiple children as close together as possible. She never would have gotten together with Dave if she believed for a moment that's what he wanted, as she had no intention of being anybody's broodmare or slave. However, considering how long ago David Rossi had been born he was really pretty modern in most respects, although he did have some rough edges, but then so did she so she had no right to complain. JJ was sure that they would argue and fight occasionally, both were too stubborn not to, but then they'd make up afterwards and their relationship would be better.

And that was the way it should be

~~~Unexpected Bonds~~~

"You know I don't believe I've ever scanned a human female that's carrying a vampire's babies before and I've been a doctor for over 30 years," Dr. Rommel said tapping a pen on her bottom lip thoughtfully.

"So does that mean you're willing to give it a try?" Rossi asked. "It's not like it's going to harm JJ or the baby she's carrying, so you might as well to see if it works or not."

"Sure, why not," Dr. Rommel decided. "You're right that the ultrasound is harmless and shouldn't harm your wife or your baby."

Neither Dave or JJ bothered to correct the doctor because they would be getting married at some point just like Hotch and Emily or Reid and Keziah, but only because they wanted to.

"So what are you hoping to discover when we do the ultrasound?" asked Dr. Rommel.

"Well, Jennifer and I were hoping to know whether or not she's carrying just to single baby or twins as we already have twin sons," Rossi explained, not bothering to tell Dr. Rommel that JJ's twin sons were actually another man's children, as he considered them his now and in fact, he was already well on his way to legally adopting them, with his mate' approval.

"Didn't you get this done last time?" asked Dr. Rommel curiously.

"No, we didn't," JJ said refusing to say anymore on the subject and so the doctor didn't press as it wasn't any of his business.

"Alright then, I'll go arrange an ultrasound scan for you and be back in a few minutes, although normally you would have to make another appointment, but I understand that both of you have busy schedules and you might not be able to make it."

"We do, as you never know when you're going to be traveling to some strange city when you work with the behavioral analyst unit," Rossi said with a smile that made the female doctor, whose first name was Leona unintentionally go a little bit weak in the knees.

Leona Rommel knew very well that vampires could be extremely charming when they wanted to be, but in this case she was sure it was unintentional, since his wife was sitting right at his side rolling her eyes at him, not at all annoyed at her husband, which told the doctor that this was a very common occurrence. Rommel supposed that it helped him charm the female suspects into telling him more then they would otherwise.

The doctor left and JJ turned to Dave and said, "Do you always have to turn on the charm and make every female you encounter go weak in the knees, especially since you're off the market now?"

"Sorry it's never intentional," Rossi promised kissing her cheek, "it's just kind of a mechanism of all vampires and you can't really cut it on or off, as it just is. It used to be a way to lure your prey back when we were still drinking human blood. Just because most of us don't do that anymore doesn't mean that the attribute that's part of every vampire doesn't still exist, even if a vampire's allure is considerably weaker now thanks to the fact that we now drink that artificial blood, instead of the real deal. If I really wanted to I could have done much more than just smile at her and cause her body to get a little weak. I could've had her in my clutches in 10 seconds flat if I really put any affect into it."

"I suppose I'll just have to get used to it," JJ sighed not doubting Dave's loyalty to her, but still it was annoying and that he could have any female he wanted just by smiling at them and snapping his fingers.

"You'll have the same affect once you are changed, except on the males" Rossi told her gently. "You just wait until after you are changed and the first time you smile at a man they'll come panting after you like a dog in heat, even if you don't mean them to, unless they're another vampire and then it won't work on them."

JJ doubted she would ever have that effect on men even after she was a vampire herself, but she didn't disagree, as she didn't want to cause an argument right here in the doctor's office.

A few minutes later doctor Rommel reappeared and gestured them to follow her.

"Here we are," Dr. Rommel said.

"Do you think you can tell the sex at this early stage as vampire pregnancies only last for a couple of months and she's already three weeks pregnant," Rossi asked suddenly.

"I don't know, but it's possible, as you can do that at just 12 weeks or the end of the first trimester for the other three species, but since a vampire pregnancy only lasts for two months then you're almost halfway through that means that technically you're past the first trimester. We're into new territory here at least for me, so we'll just have to see," Dr. Rommel admitted.

Dave nodded as he had expected no other answer really, but it hadn't hurt to ask.

"Well, let's get started shall we," Dr. Rommel suggested as she put some gel on JJ's now bare belly as she had gotten undressed while she and Dave had been talking. Rommel hooked up the ultrasound to JJ's belly and turned it on and immediately a blurry black-and-white picture appeared. The doctor adjusted the picture and suddenly it came in much clearer.

"Wow! They baby is really big for just three weeks, although I do understand that this happens with vampire babies, even those that are half human," Dr. Rommel said, as she studied the picture. "You are indeed carrying twins."

"How can you tell?" JJ asked.

"Because I can see three little hands and three little feet instead of the two that we all expected and the only reason we can't tell the sex of the second baby is because they're sibling is blocking them," Dr. Rommel explained.

"So what about the one you can see is it a girl or a boy?" asked JJ before Dave could.

"It looks like it's a girl," Dr. Rommel said after she had studied the picture again intently.

Dave let out a whoop he was so happy and JJ simply grinned at his excitement, although she was pretty happy as well, as she had wanted a little girl to name after her sister and also because she already had two boys.

"Well, it's nice to see you're very happy with this news," Dr. Rommel said with a smile.

"We already have two sons, doctor," JJ explained, "and so a little girl is perfect and we are both hoping that the second one is also a girl, but if we get another boy then that's okay to, since both Dave and I intend on having more."

"Yes, that's a good point," Dr. Rommel admitted. "Every family needs both sexes, although I realize that doesn't always happen and you get one or the other every time."

"But in most families only have two, maybe three children," Rossi pointed out, "and I realize it's not supposed to make a difference when it comes to what you want, but a lot of times you still get all of the same sex even if they're years apart."

"Yes, yes, I have seen that happen many times," Dr. Rommel admitted. "The parents might want a boy or girl because they already have the other, but they still don't get what they want. So I'm assuming you're going to want to have a c-section?"

"Yes, preferably at least three or four days before I actually go into labor. I've already been warned by several vampires that I trust and that have given birth that having the baby naturally is not an option even with a singleton, because even half vampires tend to be stronger than just a normal human, magical or a shifter at birth. I was warned that they could do me considerable internal damage, without meaning to if I didn't have a c-section and I could end up with at least a cracked pelvis, so that's the route we're going to take."

"I would say at least a week early would be better," Dr. Rommel said, "as fast as they're growing they should be fully developed by then, but I'll do an ultrasound beforehand to make sure."

"Even if they aren't they should have all their fingers and toes and their vampire genes should help them survive until their lungs or whatever fully develop," Rossi said. "Even a half vampire baby is going to be more hardy, much hardier than entirely mortal ones. It's not really the babies I'm worried about it's JJ because she's human after all and in the past before c-sections were invented a lot of human woman died from giving birth to vampire children, but this was hundreds of years ago and certainly not recently."

"Alright then, we'll do a c-section at least five or six days in advance as I can certainly understand your fear of losing your wife," Dr. Rommel said.

"I wouldn't survive long without her as she is my mate," Rossi explained to Dr. Rommel candidly. "We're a lot like shifters that we have one mate and one mate only, we know when we have met that mate and to lose her would find me trying to find a way to meet my own death."

"I see," Dr. Rommel said truly understanding David Rossi's predicament.

She knew, although she didn't say so, that at some point Jennifer Jareau would be turned into a vampire and she was certain that she had already agreed to it and that it was just the date that was still to be determined, although she was sure that it would be after the birth of the couples children.

"I would like to keep a very close eye on you and those babies you are carrying, so I want to see you every week if at all possible," Dr. Rommel instructed.

"I don't know that I'll manage every week," JJ said, "as the team travels a lot for work. Most the time we're only gone for a few days, but occasionally we're gone for a week."

"Just make as many appointments as you can, even if you can't come to all of them because of your job," Dr. Rommel said. "Oh, and make sure you give 24 hours notice if you can't make it as you will be charged otherwise."

Dave dismissed that comment immediately as money didn't really matter to him, since he had more than he could ever spend. If neither he or JJ had a chance to call then the waste of the money wouldn't bother him, although he knew it would bother his mate, since she didn't have the tons of money that he did, but she soon would as he intended to open an account in her name. He knew that a fierce argument would ensure when he did so, as JJ was very independent, but this was how it was done whenever a new vampire was made, so long as it was done properly. The new vampire's mate or mentor opened up a bank account in their name and put at least $5 million into that account, a trust manger would then be hired to increase that amount and Dave also intended to teach his mate how to invest wisely, which meant over time the amount would grow until JJ had just as much money as he did.

Now in Emily's case she had already been a vampire and had plenty of her own and so this particular step had not been necessary, but in Reid's case Dave was sure that Keziah intended to do the same thing that he was going to do for JJ if she hadn't already done so. That was just the way it had always been done, especially if that person didn't already have a great deal of money of their own, because after all vampires lived almost forever and they needed things, even if it wasn't food, they needed clothes and things to entertain them and places to live, all of which needed money.

Both Dave and JJ left the doctor's office a few minutes later after setting up another appointment, that both of them were going to try to make if they weren't out of town. As far as Dave was concerned he wanted to be at every appointment if possible alongside his mate and he would do everything possible to ensure that happened and he was positive that Aaron would agree. Now the only problem was how to deal with Strauss who was bound to go ballistic when she discovered that JJ was pregnant with his children and it wouldn't matter what the two of them were mates, as Strauss didn't believe in such things. Then again why should she as she had never had a relationship that lasted more than a few years as her husband had left her after a mere 10 years of marriage and three children.

Dave would've liked to have kept their relationship quiet at least until it was time to officially turn his mate into what he was, but due to the fact that JJ was pregnant, and the babies would be born in just two months it was going to be pretty obvious who the father was. Oh, Strauss might choose to believe that it was Aaron and that he had cheated on Emily, but the possibility of that happening was nil and the same could be said of Reid and Aaron's sister Keziah. Realistically, he was the only option left once Strauss started to think after she got over her initial reaction. Of course, it was possible it could be some random one night stand, but that wasn't like JJ at all and even Strauss would know better than that. If Strauss accused him of getting JJ pregnant he had no intention of denying it and when he revealed that they were mates he could predict Strauss going through the roof almost literally, instead of figuratively. He suspected that her blood pressure would also skyrocket, which wasn't good for any mortal, but that wasn't his problem. If that did happen Dave had every intention of enjoying the show as there was nothing that Strauss could legally do to get rid of either him or JJ.

Dave supposed that Erin could, try to transfer JJ, since she wasn't a profiler just the media liaison, but the way to get around that was for JJ to start taking night classes in profiling.

He was also willing to use his contacts at the very top in order to stop any transfer from taking place if necessary, but the best preventive was just for JJ to take the classes and become a profiler. Dave was sure that JJ would ace any profiling classes considering she had years of experience working with a bunch of profilers and she was very good at it despite not being trained.

"What are you thinking about?" JJ asked as she sat passenger seat as Dave drove.

"I was just thinking about how we're going to deal with Strauss," Rossi explained, as he wasn't about to lie to the woman he loved, especially not about something so minor. "If you hadn't gotten pregnant we could've kept our relationship to ourselves for a long time until it was time for you to be officially changed into a vampire, but thanks to the fact that you did, the obvious choices for the donator of the sperm is going to be me once Strauss gets over her initial reaction. She might try to convince herself at first that it was Aaron that did it and that he cheated on Emily, which we both know the possibility of is zero, but once she really starts to think she's going to dismiss that possibility."

"There's no way that Hotch is going to cheat on Emily as to two of them are devoted to each other," JJ agreed.

"No, there's not," Rossi agreed, "but Erin doesn't believe in the mate bond, probably because of the fact that her marriage broke up after a mere 10 years. However, I was trying to figure out how to deal with this situation for when she does find out."

"But she can't really do anything can she?" JJ asked looking concerned.

"I'm concerned that she's going to try to transfer you, as you are only the media liaison and not a profiler. I know there's been interest in having you work for the Pentagon for example and Strauss might force the issue, as it would mean a lot of personal kudos for her. The only way I see to avoid you being transferred is for you to take profiling classes. Yes, I know you're a good profiler, despite the fact that you've never taken any of the classes, but it doesn't really count without the classes and a degree, not to the people higher-up or to Erin. Erin will do anything to get back at the people she considers having wronged her, even if that person doesn't know that they've done anything to get on her bad side. She would consider transferring you away as suitable revenge on me and also taking away a integral member of the team which will also hurt Aaron and the others, many birds with one stone and all that. Of course, if you were an actual profiler and had taken the classes that would solve the problem and Strauss wouldn't be able to do anything."

JJ considered what Dave had said and knew that he wouldn't lie to her about something that concerned their future. She wasn't naïve and she knew that Erin Strauss could indeed be incredibly vindictive, so she could definitely see the situation that Dave had described as happening, but there was also things that could be done to prevent it. She had never wanted to be a profiler, but she would be separated from Dave over her dead body, which she was sure was Strauss's intent, to hurt all of them, but particularly Dave and her emotionally.

"I'll sign up for profiling courses as soon as possible," JJ decided. "It's going to be hard with us being gone all the time, so it might take me longer to get all the classes I'll need, but I think it can be done."

"I'm sure the instructors will give you some leeway since you travel so much with the team," Rossi said. "I'll have a talk with them if you like."

"Thanks, I know you're opinion carries a great deal of weight considering that you're one of the ones that founded the BAU in the first place," JJ said gratefully.

"No problem, as I don't want to be separated from you anymore than you do from me, because thanks to us having the same job that means we get to spend more time together then if we had two totally different ones and one of them required one of us to travel a great deal. You know that so long as we act professionally while working then they'll be no reason for anybody to complain."

"We've been doing that for a year already, and I've been very surprised at your patience considering I know how much us not being together hurt you," JJ said.

"But at least I saw you every day, even on our days off and that helped. It was mostly at night when you had to sleep and I had to go back home that was the hardest," Rossi said. "Did I want to complete the bond I had with you, of course I did, but so long as we saw each other for multiple hours every day I was doing okay, although I'm certainly glad that we finally did complete the bond and you admitted that you'd fallen in love with me."

"Still, we're together now and I'm not going to let somebody as mean-spirited and vindictive as Strauss separate us just because of her pettiness," JJ said looking determined.

"That's a good attitude to have," Rossi approved. "I'll be having a word with the higher-ups tomorrow so long as we don't get a case. I believe that they'll support your decision to stay with the BAU and take profiling classes in your spare time, especially since some of them owe me a number favors and I'm willing to call in as many as necessary to make sure you don't get transferred against your will. Besides, there's a few of them that are shifters and so they will understand all about bonds and how mates don't want to be separated unless it's their decision, like Reid and Keziah for example. To force to mates apart, well, it's often led to suicide in the past at least for shifters, so if Strauss manages to transfer you I'll quit at the BAU and you can quit your job, so we can spend more time together."

"I really don't want to do that and I know you don't want to either," JJ said making a face, "but I'd never be able to concentrate and if I feel this way now, I can't imagine how strong my emotions will be once I'm turned into a vampire."

"It'll be even harder to concentrate, especially if somebody tries to separate us into different jobs against our wills," Rossi told her. "If it was voluntary and we just decided together that we could handle being separated, especially when one job requires a great deal of travel then it wouldn't be so hard. Now if we had two separate jobs, but they were reasonable hours, like 9 to 5 with weekends free, then there wouldn't be so many problems because we'd still see each other every day."

"We'd be just like a normal couple with regular jobs, being mates aside," JJ realized.

"Yes, we would, but us being mates just adds a whole another layer of complexity to the situation and comes with its own problems," Rossi said.

"Well, we'll get through this," JJ said, "Hopefully, without me being transferred."

"Yes, we will," Rossi agreed.

~~~Unexpected Bonds~~~


	16. Chapter 16

Part 16

"What!" Strauss shouted. "Are you fucking crazy! Did you come back just to get one of the team pregnant?"

"No, that's not why I came back and you know it, Erin," Rossi told her calmly, unperturbed by Strauss's anger. "When I decided to come back because Gideon left, I had no idea that Jennifer would be my mate. I know very well that you don't believe in such things, not that matters to me or Aaron or any of the team. I had no intention of getting involved with anyone that I worked with, but when I first set eyes on Jennifer I knew she was the one, the one I had been searching for the last 1500 years. Also I had no intention of getting JJ pregnant, at least not for a good few years, but I forgot that humans tend to be very fertile in a lot of cases. Something I should have taken into account considering that Jennifer already had twin sons. I should have taken precautions to make sure that she didn't get pregnant, at least right away, but I didn't. If not for the fact that she'll give birth in less than two months and she's already starting to show we would have kept our relationship quiet for years."

"That doesn't excuse the fact about that you are in a relationship with one of the team just like Hotchner is," Strauss said grinding her teeth in rage

Dave shrugged nonchalantly and said, "Such relationships aren't really forbidden, as long as the couple in question can act professionally when working and that's not going to be a problem for me or JJ just like it's not for Aaron or Emily. We've been working together side-by-side for over a year now, although we weren't actually together in that way until recently, as JJ is extremely cautious when it comes to relationships. If you bothered to actually do your job you would know that the team's case solving rate has not dropped one iota, well correction it has dropped a little because Reid is gone, but mostly we catch the unsub we're after," Rossi corrected.

"Yes, Doctor Reid left just to be turned into a vampire," Strauss said waspishly. "The behavioral analysis unit has gone down the drain because people can't do their jobs because they're in love and yet the higher-ups won't let me do anything about it."

"That's because the Director, and Deputy Director don't have a vendetta against the team," Rossi told her bluntly, "Aaron in particular. You've made holding a grudge into an art form Erin and you've changed from the woman I used to know 30 years ago. I will warn you now that if you try anything against a team, like trying to transfer to JJ, against her will I will respond and you won't like it at all."

"Is that a threat?" Strauss growled and Dave sat in front of her desk completely unconcerned at the way that Strauss was glaring him.

"No, it's a promise," Rossi told her with the furious gleam in his eyes. "Mates cannot be separated by force, as it has to be a decision that they both make. I would hardly be able to concentrate on solving cases if I was always thinking about Jennifer and JJ is the exact same way about me. If you try to transfer JJ away, as I know very well the Pentagon is getting desperate to get her, you will not like the results, as I'll go to the higher-ups. JJ has already turned down that offer several times and you will not force her to take that job because if she quits, I quit. I know Hotch and Emily likely will to, then Morgan and Garcia will follow and Reid won't come back. You'll wreck the team, just because of your pettiness. Also I might point out that neither I, Hotch or Emily or even Reid need money, so we don't need to work at the BAU, but forever can get very stagnant and boring without something to keep you occupied. As for Morgan and Garcia it's not like they're unemployable elsewhere, as Morgan was once a cop after all and Garcia could easily get a job at any high-tech electronics company. Yes, we all love what we do, which is why we put up with people who try their best to wreck our dynamics. I know you don't like it, as that's been obvious for sometime, but the reason our catching unsubs is so high, is because we don't let our egos or arrogance get in the way of doing the job and we always watch each other's backs, particularly those that can be killed a lot easier then a vampire."

Strauss looked angry enough to spit nails, but she knew very well that Rossi was probably right and that the whole team would likely leave, because they were extremely loyal to each other and it wasn't like they couldn't get other jobs and in fact she knew that Reid at least had been offered a job doing research for a large company and he had turned it down and Strauss was sure that there had been more than that one offer. Hell, Dr. Reid could go into the private sector and make a ton of money in a few years if he really wanted to. She also very well knew that if she did let that happen her ass would follow the team out the door and her career would be ruined. She might even lose her pension or at the very least she would be forced to take early retirement, just like she tried to force on Agent Hotchner a few years back, after a bad case where several of the witnesses had been killed.

"I would think that you would be happy that most of the team will no longer be vulnerable to ordinary things like bullets and really it's only Morgan and JJ we have to worry about and since Morgan is a shifter and they heal incredibly fast unless the wound is in a vital area, really Jennifer is the only concern, since Garcia isn't a field agent," Rossi pointed out smugly, which made Strauss grind her teeth again.

Strauss had to admit, to herself at least that her former lover had a point that most of the team was now practically unkillable, which would save on medical bills, which would make the higher-ups and the accountants extremely happy, since medical bills could be quite high. Strauss wouldn't be surprised to find out the two members that could be injured much more easily then they could would be protected without affecting their ability to do their jobs. Hotchner had been doing that for years Strauss knew and put himself into situations to protect one of his teammates, but now that most of the team were vampires she was sure they would all be doing it, as they were incredibly loyal to each other.

Strauss was also sure that at some point Jennifer Jareau would be turned into a vampire and that the higher-ups would support the decision so long as the job still got done with minimum friction. Unfortunately, for her the higher-ups, the Deputy Director in particular was a shifter and he for one would definitely support Jareau's and Rossi's decision because they to had their own version of the mate bond that vampires had. It didn't matter if she believe such a thing existed as it was irrelevant. She had already been reprimanded and her knuckles officially rapped when she had tried her best to separate Hotchner and Prentiss and told that the pair would not be separated unless it was proved that they couldn't get the job done just like always and she was sure the same thing would occur if she tried to separate Rossi and Jareau. She had already been lectured about how rare it was for a vampire or a shifter for that matter to find their one true mate, although from her perspective that comment was suspect, because five members of the BAU team had found their mates within the last two years, and two of those couples worked together. Strauss supposed it could've just been luck if she actually believed in such a thing and she just waited to be told that the last two remaining members of the team had found their mates. Derek Morgan who was a shifter instead of a vampire, but they also had mating bond and just know when they had found 'the one' and Penelope Garcia the technical analysis for the team was magical, but still she could find out that her mate was a vampire or a shifter and if it was another vampire she would willingly be turned into one Strauss suspected.

Strauss internally snorted in her head as the last two words sounded so sarcastic that it was practically dripping with scorn and disgust. Why did her ultimate nemesis have to be so bloody happy all the time? Why couldn't Hotchner go back to being the sad and lonely man he had used to be? She had gotten great, if secret satisfaction when Hotchner had worked late more often then not doing the paperwork, because he had nowhere else to be and not much of a private life at least from what she could tell from a distance. It wasn't like he needed to sleep after all and so he could stay in the office all bloody night if he really wanted to, but unfortunately, he could also do the paperwork at vampire speed without tearing the delicate pages. When Emily Prentiss had first come to interview for a position Strauss had tried her best to get her to spy on the rest of the team and report back to her. Unfortunately, from her point of view Emily Prentiss was no naïve woman who would do anything she asked in order to avoid her wrath, but a centuries old intelligent vampire just like Hotchner who knew she was being played immediately and shot her down and told her plainly that she was nobodies rat or spy.

As if that wasn't bad enough, then Strauss had found out that she and Hotchner were mates if only because Prentiss had gotten pregnant shortly after they had met, like a week and had that not occurred Strauss was sure that they would have kept their relationship very quiet. Rossi and Jareau had been planning to do before Jareau had gotten pregnant.

Strauss well knew that she was on thin ice with the higher-ups as they felt that she interfered with the team too much, so she would need a legit reason to get rid of one of the them, just as she knew that they would never give her one. Really, the BAU team was the best unit in the FBI had the highest crime solving rate in the entire bureau, which made the Director and Deputy Director, very happy. They didn't care how the job was accomplished just so long as it was and so long as they got no complaints officially. Strauss well knew that the team acted professionally while working and there had been no complaints about their conduct.

She could indeed try to transfer Jareau to the Pentagon since they were getting desperate to get someone of her skills and the kudos she would get for doing so would help her own career and even help her with the higher-ups. She would have played it that Jareau had wanted to go, but unfortunately, that wasn't going to be possible, because David Rossi was onto her and he would ensure that didn't occur. As much she hated to admit it Rossi had quite a bit of pull within the FBI with the people that mattered, despite the fact that he had been gone for a decade. The director and deputy would accede to almost any request within reasonable limits, so for the moment her hands were tied. She wouldn't risk her own position just to try to get revenge on the team, Hotchner in particular, as he had been a thorn in her side for years.

Strauss hated to admit it that she was jealous that David Rossi was in a happy and permanent relationship with someone else, someone who was part of the team no less. He might not have expected it to happen when he came back, but it had and that made her so jealous, that she just wanted to tear Jareau's eyes out of their sockets and eat them or better yet her heart. She had once been involved with the handsome David Rossi almost 30 years ago and he was the one that had broken it off as soon as he had gotten bored with her, although he hadn't actually said so. Oh, no, Rossi had been much too polite for that as he simply said that their lives were moving in different directions and so their relationship was over, but she had known the truth, even if he had been very smooth and polite when he had broken it off. They had been together for well over a year before another gorgeous woman had caught his eye.

Strauss well knew that she had no choice, but to go along with what Rossi wanted, as she had no doubt that he would do what he promised to do if she dared try to interfere with the team, particularly Jareau. If she dared try to transfer Jareau away, unless of course, she was given a legit reason then she had no doubt that David Rossi would call in every favor he was owed in order to ruin her career, as he really could be that vindictive as she well knew. He would have the team dig into her 40 years with the bureau and eyeball every single decision she had made and find out how many careers she had destroyed due mostly to pettiness.

She knew very well that some of the decisions she had made couldn't stand up to close examination and that if anybody cared to put in the work required, they would eventually find what they were looking for. If that happened she knew she would be out on her ass, a promising career destroyed, especially since she didn't have too many more years before she could retire.

Dave said nothing as he watched Strauss try her best to think of a way she could take advantage of this situation, but he was sure that he had every single avenue she could use all sewn up. There was no way in heaven or hell he was going to let his, Jennifer be transferred just because of the pettiness, vindictiveness and ruthlessness of one woman. Perhaps, if Erin wasn't such a bitch this step wouldn't be necessary, but he would never allow JJ to be transferred, no matter what the Pentagon wanted, not unless of course, that was what his mate wanted, which he knew very well it wasn't, as she had made her choices plain. He also knew that the Pentagon handled a lot of things overseas and it was very possible that the reason they wanted JJ in the first place was because she wasn't married and really she was a non-entity to most people as he doubted the terrorists oversees had ever heard of Jennifer Jareau.

Dave had every intention of nipping that idea in the bud by actually asking her to marry him and even if their plan failed and she was ordered to the Pentagon, she would not be doing any overseas work until after her babies were born. Of course, the fact that her sons didn't have any father should prevent the Pentagon from sending her overseas, but with people like that you never know what they were going to do, so it was better to take precautions just in case. The profiling classes that JJ had already signed up for and the fact that they were married should prevent any idiot from sending her overseas or even pulling her into the Pentagon and if it didn't he was willing to go to war over the matter. He would be happy to point out that JJ was his mate and there was no way he was going to put her life in danger by sending her into a particularly dangerous or at least unstable situation.

Dave gave Strauss plenty of time to think and then said softly. "If you really believe I'm going to allow my mate to be transferred to the Pentagon where she could be given assignments overseas and possibly get yourself killed then you're more of an idiot then I believed you to be. Now that we've just found each other and completed the bond just recently, there's no way in hell I'm going to lose her to some overseas assignment and that's even if the bond we share would allow us to be separated unwillingly, which is something that you and those idiots at the Pentagon might not have thought about. Also the fact that JJ has two sons that depend on her and another two children on the way, should stop such idiocy before they actually carry it out. Henry and Michael need their mother, as they have no one else and you and those idiots at the Pentagon had better seriously thing about you actions, before you make a major mistake that you and them will not live through, that I promise you, especially if Jennifer comes to harm."

Strauss was well aware that Agent Jareau had twin sons named Henry and Michael and that there was no father in evidence. She also knew that those children weren't Rossi's or they'd be mostly grown by this point since vampire children even ones that were only half grew incredibly quickly and besides, they hadn't been born before Rossi had come out of retirement. The two hadn't even met before last year at least as far as she knew.

"Those children will end up in an orphanage over my dead body. They're only four for godsakes and they need their mother. There's bound to be other people that have JJ's skillset out there even if they're not particularly thick on the ground," Rossi growled.

Strauss knew defeat then, as much as she hated to admit it, but David Rossi had made a few very good points. The Pentagon wanted someone that was unattached or who at least had a husband who could look after the children while the mother was gone, but the fact that Jareau and Rossi were mates changed the situation. Even if she didn't believe such a thing existed there were people at the Pentagon who were shifters or vampires themselves who would never put some vampire's or shifter's mate in danger as that would give that vampire or shifter carte blanche to hunt them down and kill them. This was particularly true if anything happened to the mate in question, especially if that mate just happened to be mortal and therefore, killable. No, there were rules in place to prevent such a thing from happening, so it looked like Jareau was off the hook, unfortunately. Of course, some people could ignore the rules, because they didn't believe in the mate bond, just like she didn't and go ahead and put somebody like Jareau, who was the mate of a vampire in danger and their lives would be over soon afterwards. If that happened, well, Rossi would have every legal right to kill that person or persons who had made such a poor decision or at least scare them to death and he wouldn't even get in trouble for it. If anything happened to a vampire's mate the other would kill themselves soon afterwards unless they had small children and then they lived until they were grown or at least put them in the care of close relatives or friends before meeting their end.

"I'll see what I can do," Strauss said, but Rossi being the intelligent man and he was read between the lines and nodded shortly.

"Good," Rossi said firmly. "I'm glad to know that you've seen reason Erin and that you'll talk to the people at the Pentagon. Tell those assholes from me that if they dare pull JJ away from the BAU when she doesn't want to go and then try to send her overseas, well, they'll be hearing from me and they will not like it if I have to visit them."

Suddenly Dave went from calm, controlled and casually leaning back in Strauss's office chair to menacing and deadly all in the space of a single heartbeat. "I have spent the last 1500 years searching for my mate, the one person on this planet meant for me. I will never allow her to be put in danger due to petty people who don't care whose lives they destroy so long as they get what they want. JJ has already agreed to resign from the bureau if anyone tries to transfer her away against her wishes, as she doesn't want to be separated from me or our children anymore than I do from her and I'll follow directly after her. The only thing preventing me from turning her into a vampire right this very minute is that she wanted to wait awhile and Reid is still out and won't be back for a few months and neither one of us wants to leave the team so shorthanded, as we're already a man down. Believe me, when I say if some idiot at the Pentagon decides to go ahead and try, they'd regret making such a stupid decision, as I'll come after them with everything I have and that's my personal guarantee."

Coming from anybody else that would have been a threat, but coming from the 1500 year old vampire David Rossi, however, it wasn't a threat, but fact, as he would indeed go after the people responsible and those same people would end up dead very shortly or at least missing in action. David Rossi might believe in justice, but that wasn't to say that he wouldn't come for you if you did something to piss him off and putting his mate in danger would definitely do that. Normally, David Rossi was the epitome of a true gentleman, but he did have a deadly side, but then so did all vampires, but then Rossi's was deadlier than most and it took a lot to piss him off as he took most things in stride.

Strauss knew this, knew Rossi was serious and knew that if he had to go after certain people that he wouldn't even get in trouble for it from his own community much less the mortal government. There were numerous laws in place to protect those of the vampire community under certain circumstances and placing a vampire's or even a shifter's mate in incredible danger, especially if they were injured or killed. If that happened a vampire or shifter had every right to kill the people responsible just so long as they didn't get innocents also killed.

"You may go," Strauss said trying not to appear to shaky and Rossi actually had the gall to smirk at her, which made her have bodily reactions that she normally had under tight control, but then David Rossi was a beyond handsome man that looked like some kind of inhuman God. The inhuman handsomeness became even more pronounced when he smiled as it made you want to do whatever he wanted and if he crooked a finger in your direction then you would go directly into his clutches. There were still vampires out there that broke the law and a lot of them were caught and hunted down by the police force of the vampire community, but some just like the human criminals didn't get caught for decades, just because they were extremely clever or intelligent. Strauss well knew that if David Rossi really wanted to kill humans, that he was more than intelligent enough to never get caught. Even if the vampire police or any government agency for that matter suspected that he was responsible they'd have to have proof and she well knew that Rossi was clever enough to never give them any.

"I'm glad we could come to an agreement," Rossi said rising elegantly from the chair he had been sitting in.

Strauss didn't respond as they had never come to an agreement, though she had been thoroughly cowed, as she was one of the few mortals still alive that knew what David Rossi was capable of when he felt it was justified. Trying to transfer Jennifer Jareau to the Pentagon or anywhere else for that matter would see him respond with deadly force, especially when it was clear she didn't want to go and that it hadn't been her decision.

Dave smirked at Strauss one more time before he silently strolled with deadly grace, looking completely calm and relaxed, to the door and once he was in the hallway he gently shut the door behind him.

Once he was gone Strauss relaxed, but then she practically started shaking with fury. She knew very well that David Rossi was much more deadly then Aaron Hotchner, but then Hotchner was much nicer and would never threaten her like Rossi had just done, although he still had his ways of making his displeasure known. She knew that Rossi was much older than Hotchner was and perhaps, that had something to do with how ruthless he could be, not that it mattered. All Strauss knew was she didn't dare go against David Rossi, because not only had he had a major hand in forming the BAU in the first place he would carry out his threat and feel no regrets at all. She had forgotten temporarily that she was dealing with a centuries old vampire and not a mortal or a young naïve person. She wouldn't forget again, she swore to herself and so long as she left him and Jennifer Jareau alone he probably wouldn't interfere.

Probably.

~~~Unexpected Bonds~~~

"Personally, I think you handled the situation the only way you could," Hotch smirked. "Strauss would have forced the issue and likely transferred JJ to the Pentagon against her wishes instead of backing up her desire to not leave the BAU, just because of all the personal kudos she would have gained from doing so. It wouldn't have mattered to her that JJ didn't want to go, so I'm glad you took care of the situation."

"I wasn't about to let JJ be transferred when it wasn't what she wanted," Rossi told Emily and Aaron who both nodded. "Those idiots at the Pentagon thought that she'd be the perfect candidate to probably do some overseas work, but forgot that she has two young boys that need her, with no father in sight."

"Not to mention another child on the way," Emily commented with a grin.

"Yep!" Rossi grinned right back looking very happy at the mention that his mate was pregnant.

"I'm surprised you're not shouting it to the world," Hotch said dryly when he saw Dave expression, not that he could blame Dave in the least for his rather sappy expression, because getting your mate pregnant was always more special then just getting some random woman pregnant.

"Believe me, I want to, especially since the baby will be here any day now as Jennifer is scheduled to go into a c-section in just a few weeks," Rossi said still grinning. "Actually just so you know it's going to be at least twins, because we went to the doctor and had her try an ultrasound, since Jennifer is still human and it worked."

"It worked?" asked Hotch surprise lacing his voice.

"It did indeed and as far as I know an ultrasound has never been tried on a human that is carrying half vampire children," Rossi said. "I suspect it's their human genes that allow the ultra sound to work."

"Wow! I'm very happy for you," Emily said

"Thanks, I can hardly wait until they are here," Rossi said grinning happily.

"I don't blame you there," Hotch said. "Emily and I weren't expecting triplets either, but that doesn't mean that they were unwanted or that they are unloved, it was just something of a surprise that Emily got pregnant the first time, you know?" Hotch said.

"Yeah, I understand what you're saying," Rossi agreed. "Most vampire females don't get pregnant for years. Of course, most vampires don't ever find their mates either, so that's at least a big contributing factor."

"Of course, the fact that I'm half magical has a lot to do with it as well," Emily added.

"Yeah, I envy you, because I doubt that Jennifer will get pregnant as easily as you do once she's a vampire. Of course, that doesn't mean I'm not going to turn her into one when the time is right," Rossi said.

"Of course it doesn't," Hotch said. "So out of curiosity how much did you have to threaten Strauss to get her to get the Pentagon off JJ's back?"

"I simply had to tell her whose life she was putting in danger and then reminded her of exactly what would happen if someone tried to separate mates involuntarily. I also reminded her if those idiots at the Pentagon tried to transfer Jennifer away, so she could do something overseas, just because she was supposedly unattached and she had the right skillset, that I would come after them and they wouldn't like the results. Also JJ and I both agreed we would quit entirely and go somewhere far way, perhaps, Europe, where the US government has no sway. I didn't outright threaten her just so you know, as I was more subtle then that, but she certainly got the message," Rossi smirked, as did Emily and Hotch.

"I can imagine that scene very well," Hotch snorted. "Strauss has never been a stupid woman just as greedy, ambitious one."

"And one that can hold a grudge until judgment day for real and imagined slights," Rossi added.

"Now that's something I agree with and I don't know Strauss half as well as the two you do," Emily said.

"It doesn't mean you're not right though," Hotch told his mate kissing her cheek. "So I'm assuming that the threat of the Pentagon is over now."

"Probably," Rossi shrugged, "but you never know what some idiots will do, but if they dare try to transfer JJ when she doesn't want to go then they will feel my wrath. However, I'm sure that Erin will make it clear to those idiots, the ones that aren't already vampires or shifters, since they'll definitely understand about mates and bonds, that JJ is off limits for any kind of overseas work. Or really to be transferred at all, unless it's what she wants, which it's not, as she has made her wishes plain to me."

"I'm sure you frightened Strauss enough that she'll do exactly what you want in order to avoid your wrath," Hotch smirked.

"I think it would be the smart thing to do personally," Emily smirked. "You don't piss off one of our kind, especially someone as old as you are and expect to get off lightly."

"I really think that you'll have no further problems now that Strauss knows that you and JJ are mates," Hotch delicately suggested. "She'll inform those uptight suits at the Pentagon about the situation and they won't dare try anything, since you don't get into that kind of high position by being stupid."

"We'll see," Rossi said cautiously, although inwardly he agreed, but then you never knew about the depths of mortal stupidity. "Now if you don't mind I'm going to go get back to Jennifer," Rossi added, as he finished off his scotch, "as she should be home from shopping with Garcia by now."

"I would've loved to have gone shopping," Emily said enviously.

"There's always next time," Hotch soothed, as he kissed side of his mate's neck.

"Oh, well, at least there's always next time as you said," Emily shrugged.

"I'm sure you'll have plenty of opportunities to shop with JJ and Garcia," Rossi told Emily with a smile.

"I certainly hope so, because Penny at least won't be around for centuries to come," Emily said.

"I'm sure JJ and Garcia will see if something to be arranged," Rossi said, "although I certainly don't know when that will be considering how busy we all are."

The three of them chatted for a few more minutes before Rossi rose and headed to his car to head home to the woman that meant everything to him, suddenly missing her something fierce.

~~~Unexpected Bonds~~~

Dave waited anxiously in the waiting room and paced unable to relax. His mate had just gone in for her c-section five days early, just to make sure that JJ didn't actually go into labor as that would've been bad considering she was completely human. The doctor had assured both him and JJ that the babies were grown enough to be healthy, but that wasn't what he was really concerned about. He knew very well that vampire children even half human ones were extremely hardy and didn't die from being born or any other reason. No, it was JJ that he was concerned about and he would be unable to relax until he knew his, Jennifer had come out of the operation healthy

Dave was well aware that they did c-sections all the time on humans and normally there were no complications, except a long recovery by vampire standards anyway. And while he would miss JJ while he was out of town with the team he could deal with it because he got two children that were both his and JJ's and even if he was sure they would have plenty more children in the centuries to come these two were special. They were special because they were the first two children that he'd had with his mate.

He was very glad that the team hadn't been called on the case, because he would've had to go with them while JJ stayed behind and got herself to her scheduled c-section. His, JJ would have insisted that he go with the team so they weren't to shorthanded considering they were already a man down, but despite the fact not being allowed in the operating room he wanted to be here for his, Jennifer and not off catching some unsub.

Dave heard footsteps and he knew that his sensitive hearing was picking up the sound long before that person darkened the doorway and in fact he had been hearing footsteps every few minutes ever since he had entered this room. A few had even walked past the entrance to where he was, but none of them had stopped.

Suddenly a pair of footsteps stopped and Dave looked up his this expression anxious.

"Are you David Rossi?"

"I am," Rossi confirmed trying to conceal how anxious he was.

"I was told to inform you that Agent Jareau came through the surgery just fine and that your twin daughters are also healthy.

"Thank you," Rossi said politely, although inside he had relaxed once he knew that his mate was fine, as she was the one he had been worried about and not the twin girls he was carrying as vampire children didn't die from very much, not even half human ones. He and Jennifer had known for the last few weeks that they were having two daughters and both were overjoyed at that since they already had two sons, as he considered Jennifer's sons Henry and Michael just as much his now as they were hers and it didn't matter to him one jot that they didn't actually have any of his genes. "So when I can I see, Jennifer?" Rossi asked the nurse.

"Well, she's still under anesthesia for the moment, although she should be coming out of it in just a few minutes, so I don't see why you can't pay a short visit and then come back later, as she'll be sleeping a great deal," the nurse said.

Dave didn't bother to tell the nurse that he knew that, as he had been through this quite a few times before with human women who didn't want the baby afterwards or who he had been together with sometimes for decades and where they had several children in that amount of time.

He was over 1500 years old after all and he'd had about 500 children in that amount of time, although less than half of those that he had raised himself. He had tried to keep in contact with all of them over the centuries, but that was getting harder as many of them as there were. Not to mention phones or computers and email hadn't been invented until fairly recently at least in a vampire's estimation, so he rarely heard from some of his children, although every few decades one of them did track him down.

"Thank you," Rossi repeated getting the room number, before the nurse departed not even noticing how the nurse was almost drooling, as he was an incredibly handsome man, even when he wasn't turning on the charm. However, just because some women came onto him or at least looked at him appreciatively did not mean he had to pay attention. In fact if truth be known he hadn't even noticed, as his entire attention was focused on getting to see Jennifer as soon as possible, just to assure himself that she was healthy and well. He knew very well that he would be anxious until he could assure himself of that fact, although once she was turned into a vampire that worry would lessen considerably, as not much could kill one of their kind and they healed quickly.

Before he had found Jennifer he had taken great delight in sleeping with as many women as possible and had often had at least two in his bed at any given time, sometimes even three. Not anymore though as Jennifer was the only one for him and he had no intention of ever cheating on her. The fact of the matter was, was that he was now incapable of getting interested in another woman other than as a friend as his Jennifer was all he would ever need and he couldn't wait until the day he was able to change her into a vampire.

"How are you doing, sweetheart?" Rossi asked as soon as he had entered his mate's room and saw that she was awake if groggy.

"I'm fine," JJ said yawning. "I'm still incredibly sleepy, but I'm assuming that's the anesthesia they gave me."

"Probably," Rossi agreed, as he sat by his mate's bed holding her hand. JJ's bed was the only one in the room, as he had insisted on a private room and was willing to pay the extra cost that incurred.

"So how are our two little girls doing?" asked JJ.

"They're fine according to the nurse that came to tell me that the c-section was a success. To tell you the truth, I was so worried about you I didn't really question her too much just a few basic questions, as I knew our girls would be okay thanks to those vampire genes of theirs and they're only a few days early. The nurses will feed them as they keep a bloodstock on hand for just such a situation," Rossi said.

"Well, at least they're not going to have to poop or sleep and all they'll need is regular doses of blood."

"Yes, they'll grow quickly," Rossi agreed, "and in just a month they'll be walking and it won't be long after that we'll be talking in whole sentences we're going to have a problem keeping them entertained, as they will learn incredibly fast and their intelligence will be ahead of their physical growth."

"We'll manage," JJ said, "you have the money to buy them plenty of reading a material appropriate for their ages, hire a tutor and to do everything possible to encourage their growth mentally. The hard thing is going to be letting them go off to college at just seven or eight years old."

"Actually they'll look about 18 by the time they are 3 or 4, even if they don't stop aging until they are 7 or so," Rossi corrected, "and we must let them go to college, because they'll be extremely mature mentally, probably around 30 or 40 or even older when it comes to knowledge as they read extremely fast. They could complete their college courses in just a year or two since they don't need to sleep and they could probably come away with several degrees in that amount of time if they wanted to."

"I hate to think of my babies growing up so fast, especially since Henry and Michael should go to college first since they are oldest. But I understand due to their vampire genes, that they really are not going to lead normal childhoods where they grow up in 18 years and instead it'll be much less than half that," JJ yawned her eyes dropping, no matter how much she struggled to keep them open.

"I know it's hard for any parent to let their children go and live their own lives," Rossi said, "but they will not be going to college until we are sure that they have good control of their bloodlust and if that takes until they're 18 in human years then so be it. However, due to the fact that they're half human they should have an easier time learning that control."

"So they look around 18 at three, maybe four, but they don't stop aging until this 7," JJ repeated to make sure she understood the information he was being given and Dave nodded.

"Yes, I have plenty of experience with this as I've raised several half vampire children in the past and although they will grow basically at the same speed as full vampires, there are certain things are going to be easier for them and controlling their bloodlust is just one advantage. For one thing they can eat human food, but if they do that then they'll have to get rid of the waste that it causes and they won't have their full vampire strength, hearing or sight, nor will they have their cold stonelike skin. Their skin will still be somewhat cold, since they don't have any blood in their veins and their inhuman attraction to ordinary people won't be as powerful either. Of course, if they want to live off human food that's okay to, but we have quite few advantages as vampires, even if it's that artificial stuff that the government invented that we drink now and it will help them have their full powers."

"So if they eat human food then they won't have bloodlust and they'll be just like a regular humans, except they won't age after a certain point," JJ said.

"More or less," Rossi said. "They'll still be slightly stronger like they've been working out heavily for example just not as much as a full vampire and their other senses will also be slightly enhanced."

JJ absorbed that and then yawned again.

"Why don't you get some sleep, sweetheart," Rossi said kissing her gently on the lips, "and I'll see you in the morning."

"Alright," JJ said with another huge yawn her exhaustion pulling her under.

"I'll make sure I go by the nursery to see our daughters before I head home," Rossi promised, although he wasn't sure if JJ heard him before she was deeply asleep. "I love you, thank you for giving me two beautiful daughters to love," he added before he left the hospital room closing the door gently behind him.

~~~Unexpected Bonds~~~


	17. Chapter 17

Part 17

"Welcome back!" Morgan exclaimed as he saw Reid step out of the elevator.

"Thank you," Reid said, as he walked with confidence and deadly grace towards his friend who he hadn't seen, well, except over Skype, in a year. His walk was now that of a predator instead of how he had used to, but that was to be expected.

Morgan observed this and noticed some of the other changes that had taken place while Reid had been gone. His friend had always been a handsome man, even if he wasn't drop dead gorgeous like Aaron Hotchner or David Rossi, but then again those two men were vampires and had been born that way, so that was understandable. Now though Reid's slightly long dark brown hair seemed to have a shimmer to it and laid perfectly on his head, his face was also completely bloodless as it was a milky white, which was to be expected considering that vampires didn't actually have a blood in their bodies. Morgan studied his friend's face and couldn't detect a single imperfection that made someone mortal, as he now possessed an otherworldliness beauty that put mortals to shame. While Reid wasn't in Hotch's or Rossi league when it came to looking like a god he knew that women would be swarming over him.

Reid's lips twitched and he said, "You're looking at me as if I'm some kind of alien from outer space, but I promise you I'm still the same man that you knew I just look a little different that's all. You don't have to worry about me getting hurt anymore, because I am practically indestructible just like Hotch, Emily and Rossi."

"You just look different that's all," Morgan said cautiously, as if testing the waters.

"Of course, I do, I went through the very painful transformation into a vampire so that Keziah and I would never be parted," Reid said. Morgan relaxed, because the tone of voice and the way he gestured as he spoke was pure Reid, so perhaps, his friend hadn't changed all that much after all at least not where it counted and that was on the inside.

"Are you going to be up to being around a lot of people while will working?" Morgan asked.

"I wouldn't have come back if I wasn't ready to," Reid told his friend with a half smile. "I would've taken more time off until I was ready to return, as I'm not going to take the slightest chance of biting someone and draining their blood, so you don't have to worry about me. Believe me, I was put to the most stringent tests imaginable to make sure I had true control, before I was allowed to leave."

"Alright then," Morgan said relaxing, as that to sounded like Reid.

"Now if you don't mind I need to go check in with Hotch to let him know I've returned if he doesn't already know," Reid said.

"So how are those quadruplets of yours?" Morgan asked before Reid could head to Hotch's office.

"They're fine and growing so fast," Reid said with a full fledged grin. "I know it's been less than a year since their births, but they already look as if they're at least four years old, which I expected. Still it's kind of strange to watch them grow so fast and they've already mastered several things that most kids their age don't master until later. They are reading quite fluently for example, but then their brains are ahead of their bodies so that's not unexpected, but still I know the time going to go fast, especially since I'm going to be gone a lot."

"You must be really proud of them," Morgan suggested and Reid nodded enthusiastically.

"I'm really am and they are certainly more athletic than I used to be, but I'll no longer have trouble in that area as there is no such thing as a clumsy vampire," Reid said.

"What no more tripping over nothing?" Morgan teased him cautiously and Reid laughed.

"I never tripped over nothing Morgan, although I admit I wasn't the most coordinated person out there, but you just have to wait and see as I'll no longer have a problem. I should probably go back to the Academy and take the yellow brick road test and if I pass that all the waivers will be removed from my file."

The yellow brick road was a 6.1 mile course where you had to run down a wooded trial, climb up rock faces and get past a lot of other obstacles as well. Of course, for a vampire it would be incredibly easy, however, other obstacles were put out for the vampire cadets that weren't used for the human or magical and the same was true for the shifters as each had their own unique abilities.

"Are you sure you're ready for that?" Morgan asked. "That's a brutal course."

"Oh, I don't plan on doing right this second Morgan, as I need to discuss it with Hotch first, but I likely will be sometime in the next year or so," Reid said. "Believe me, I know very well what I'm facing and if I didn't think I was ready for the challenge I wouldn't to go through with it."

Morgan stopped himself from arguing, as he knew that his friend was a grown up and was also now a vampire, so could take care of himself, but still it was hard to not do that, since he did consider Spencer Reid a little brother. He was just going to have to break the habit, as he was sure Reid wouldn't appreciate being treated like an invalid, especially now that he was no longer as clumsy as he had once been.

"You don't have to be so cautious around me, Morgan," Reid said gently. "I'm still the same man you knew just with a few differences that's all. You don't have to be afraid to tease me like you used to, as I'm not going to attack you and drain your blood. As much as you annoy me sometimes I kind of got used to it and I have to admit I missed it this last year."

"Alright then," Morgan said relaxing completely.

"Of course, I'll let you know if I think you're being too overprotective, especially since I don't need to be protected anymore at least not physically," Reid added with a grin. "Now I really had better go see Hotch before he comes looking for me."

Morgan watched his friend depart and had to admit that Reid had seemed about the same, as he had been before he had gone through the transformation, although he was sure that there were some differences, even if they were extremely subtle. Morgan was sure that his friend didn't realize it, but he walked with more confidence then he had before and also nearly oozed sexuality just like Hotch, Emily or Rossi did, which is what attracted the women and men in the first place. Morgan had a feeling that Reid was now going to have the same type of problem that they did. He was sure however, that his friend would learn how to handle such situations quickly even if they made him uncomfortable, because if Reid was anything it was a fast learner.

~~~Unexpected Bonds~~~

"Welcome back!" Hotch said, as soon as Reid had knocked on his office door and entered when told to do so.

"Thank you," Reid said with a smile, as he sat in the chair when Hotch gestured at him to.

"So how does it feel to be back after being away for so long?" asked Hotch.

"It feels kind of strange," Reid admitted. "I was talking to Morgan for a minute and he was looking at me as if I was some kind of strange being from another galaxy."

"That will fade," Hotch promised him with an inner smirk at Reid's description, "It's just that you don't realize how different you look what you were before. You still basically look like Spencer Reid, but there're quite a few changes in your skin tone and other things. In other words, you no longer have any of the imperfections that all humans have somewhere on their bodies. You've gone from a handsome man to a drop dead gorgeous one as females like to say and the way you walk is also really different from before. You now nearly glide across the room just like I, Emily, Keziah or Rossi do. I know this isn't deliberate on your part, but you don't think about how you walk now or how you used to. Believe me, when I say they're totally different."

"I hadn't thought of it that way," Reid said consideringly. "I can't really do anything about my new looks, but perhaps, I can work on my walk so I don't glide across a room as you put it."

"It's not really a bad thing, as most people wouldn't even notice, especially those that never knew you before," Hotch told Reid who hesitated then nodded.

"You're right, I doubt most people would notice the way I walk and to them it would be normal. It's only those with a keen sense of what makes a person a predator that would probably notice and avoid me or if they were into danger approach," Reid said.

"You're still basically you," Hotch said, "just with a few improvements that's all. Morgan and the others besides, Rossi and Emily of course, will get used to the new you, as you're still basically Dr. Spencer Reid our expert on everything."

Reid couldn't blush anymore, but he did manage to look embarrassed.

"So how are you and Keziah doing?" Hotch asked.

"We are doing just fine and I hate to say it, but I already miss her," Reid said looking melancholy. "I'm sure I won't miss her quite so much once I really get involved in a case, but right now it's very hard to be away from her."

"This is only natural as you do spent every day all day for the last year together," Hotch said.

"I know," Reid said with a sigh, "but just because I know the cause doesn't mean I don't miss her something fierce."

"I know she's missing you to, but you'll get used to being apart again in a very short amount of time," Hotch said. "So how are Tristan, Edison, Isolde and Isabeau doing?"

Reid smiled at that and said, "They're doing just fine and growing extremely fast, which I know you're aware of. They look at least four, maybe five years old and their brains are even farther ahead. At the rate they're going they'll be ready to go to college by the time they're four and will look old enough to go."

"It wouldn't be unusual if they did go to college at that age as a lot of vampire children do, because they look 18 instead of four years old and they're probably 20 or 30 years ahead of their peers mentally. Of course, some don't go until they stop aging at about seven, and by the time they do they look our age," Hotch said.

"I know most vampires look around 30 or 35 and the only ones that don't are the ones that were changed before they reached that age," Reid recited. "The only reason I happen to look 30 is because I wasn't changed until I actually turned that age, even though I'm actually 31."

"So are your other siblings playing to be changed?" asked Hotch.

"Unless they change their minds yes, they are, but only because it's what they want and I would never force them into such an important decision. However, they've agreed to wait until they are 30 like I am as personally, I think that's the perfect age to be changed, because you look mature and not like a kid like you would if you were changed at 18 or 19. You've also had time for your body, especially your face too mature, but also it's before you start feeling the aches and pains of old age. I would miss them when they died of old age, but I would always remember them and that it was what they wanted."

"That's a very mature attitude to take," Hotch said approvingly, "but then you've always been mature, even when you joined the team at 23 and I know that's due to your bastard of a father."

Reid laughed at that, as Hotch had never hid his opinion of the man that was his father. Reid's laughter was somehow deeper and more mellow than it had been previously and Hotch know that the transformation intro vampire was responsible. Well, for that reason and because Spencer was definitely more carefree than he had been. It was obvious that he had more confidence in himself, which likely had a lot to do with the change, but also his sister.

"You know I agree with you," Reid said. "If he ever found out that his children were changed into vampires he'd go through the roof, as I don't need to tell you what his opinion of the species was. Luckily, it's not really noticeable once the newborn red eyes disappear and the normal ones take their place, as healthy white skin can be explained away, as can the coldness of it. However, it doesn't really matter what his opinion is considering that he abandoned his own family for no real reason."

"No, his opinion really doesn't matter," Hotch immediately agreed. "His opinion might have counted if you were close and if he hadn't abandoned his family, but it would still be yours and your siblings decision to make, since you're all over the age of 18."

"Even if we were close there was no way I wasn't going to go through the process, because I love Keziah so much that I willingly got myself turned into what you are so that we'd never be parted. Besides, I'm very well aware that if I hadn't agreed to go through the transformation willingly the issue would have been forced," Reid said. "I love my children to and I will protect them with everything I have and absolutely not treat them like William Reid treated me and his other children."

"No, you're a great father," Hotch said meaning it, as he and Emily had visited enough times over the last year after the quadruplets had been born that they had observed how Reid had interacted with his four children and it had warmed their unbeating hearts.

"It's going to be a challenge to keep them entertained as fast as they read, faster than I did when I was mortal certainly," Reid added.

"It's a natural vampire talent," Hotch said Reid nodded.

"I know, it's how you deal with all the paperwork and yet still have time for a private life," Reid said. "As for me I have no intention of putting in overtime in the office when I know Keziah and my children are going to be waiting on me."

"There is no reason you should have to, unless of course, we're flying out of town late because of a kidnapping," Hotch said and Reid nodded accepting that one exception.

"That's not going to happen very often that we get called kidnapping just an hour or so before we're done for the day, but it's a good point," Reid said.

"So are you looking for a bigger place?" asked Hotch. "I mean the condo that you and Keziah rented together was fine just for two of you and would've been okay for one or two children but four is going to make it rather crowded."

"Keziah is taking care of that, as she has more time to search for a house then I do," Reid explained, "although right now we are living in the condo as we kept up the rent while we were gone. It's a bit crowded, especially since Tristan, Edison, Isabeau and Isolde don't sleep and Keziah and I definitely haven't had much privacy lately, but having children is worth it."

"Definitely," Hotch immediately agreed. "Once you get a bigger place you might want to think about hiring a nanny to help look after them, or a housekeeper that can also help look after the children while you go off and do your own things."

"That's not a bad idea," Reid mused. "We would need a housekeeper anyway to help clean whatever house we buy, because I for one won't have time to dust and things like that, though I suppose I could do it at vampire speed now. At least we won't have to have one that knows how to cook unless she wants to do that for just herself. We'll need one that's not going to object to working for a bunch of vampires, as I can't see a vampire wasting their time being a housekeeper."

"Definitely not," Hotch immediately agreed. "You should be able to find someone easily enough, even if it's someone that only comes in a few times a week and doesn't actually live with you."

"At least I'm not going to have to worry about money thanks to Keziah," Reid said after a moment the accusation in his tone clear.

"It's standard practice," Hotch told Reid calmly ignoring the silent accusation, since he understood very well Reid's reaction. "Whenever someone is turned into a vampire that doesn't have a lot a money of their own then it is a creator's responsibility to make sure they're taken care of. As vampires we don't need to eat, but we do need clothes, things to entertain us, places to live, just to name a few things that we need. Now, if you had already been a vampire like Emily was then opening up an account with several million in it would not have been necessary. Back when Emily and I were born things were cents on the dollar, but thanks to inflation they're much more expensive now and that inflation will only continue to increase over the centuries."

"Don't think I'm not aware of it," Reid finally conceded his shoulders slumping. "Keziah and I had a very loud argument about it, as I've always looked after myself and taken care of my own needs, but she also pointed out to me the same things you just did and that this is common practice as we do live forever. She said that if I'd had millions of dollars to my name before I was changed then she wouldn't have had to donate some. She also said that if I hadn't joined the FBI and created my own company, that I would've had plenty of money and that I could still do that if I wanted once I retired. Sabrina, Ollie and Perdita were no happier with the situation then I was as they are used to looking after themselves, but calmed down once it was explained why it was done. I admit it's nice to have money, but I'd rather have earned that money myself then being given it, even if I understand why it was done and my siblings are exactly the same as we learned from an early age to work for everything we had."

"No one can refute that you're a hard worker and not lazy in the least like your father," said Hotch soothingly. "I understand that people have their pride, particularly a man who's had to work for everything that he has. Unlike most children whose families are well off you didn't have a life where everything was given to you until you reached adulthood, so I can certainly understand your perspective about working for everything you have. On the other hand, Keziah loves you and so was willing to share her vast wealth with you and trust me, the 5 million she gave you is just a drop in the old proverbial bucket. I of course, don't know how much she actually has, but I assure you it's much more than that, as she's been alive quite a long time and so has investments just like I do or just like most vampires any age at all do. You'll start to make your own investments once you get a handle on being a vampire and start earning your own money. I promise that 5 million is nothing to our kind."

"It wasn't just 5 million," Reid corrected more calmly, "it was 20 million."

Hotch blinked at that startled and chuckled, as he should've known his sister would give more than the minimum amount.

"I should've known that Keziah would give more than the minimum amount," Hotch explained, "as after all you are her mate."

"My three siblings each got 10 million apiece," Reid added.

"Again not unusual really, as they are your family after all and I'm sure that my siblings that stayed with you have taught them how to invest just like Keziah has you," Hotch shrugged not mentioning that he and Emily had contributed that 30 million splitting it evenly between them. "That 20 million won't be enough to last you for the rest of your existence, even if you don't run out for hundreds of years and even if you're very frugal. Some vampires enjoy the simple life, like me for example, as I certainly don't splurge except very occasionally, but it is certainly nice to have money as a backup if I need it."

"There is that," Reid agreed.

"Look at the situation logically. My sister, my older siblings and I were born back in a time before money really took hold and a lot of times it was barter that was used, although money still existed of course, but it was mostly used by the wealthy and yes, my parents fell into that category, even back then and even moreso today. However, they've been around for centuries just like I have, so their investments were bound to grow unless they were incredibly stupid and made a lot of bad ones. It would have had to be quite a few, because if it was only a dozen or so that might've put a considerable dent in their fortune, but it wouldn't have caused them to go broke."

"You do have a point," Reid admitted.

"Don't make such a big deal about the money, Keziah is doing it because she loves you and it really is standard practice, so that a vampire can start investing right away to increase the amount they were given. I know you're concerned that there are strings attached to this amount of generosity, but I can tell you the only strings that there are is that you share your life with her, so essentially it's a gift."

"And where do Sabrina, Ollie and Perdita come into this?" asked Spencer still a little wary and suspicious, even if he knew he shouldn't have been, because his boss really was as honest as the day was long and Keziah was as well.

"It's standard practice, Spencer," Hotch repeated with an emphasis on standard not letting his frustration show, as he knew that Spencer had had a hard childhood and so was suspicious of this sudden generosity. Hotch couldn't really blame Reid for that suspicion either, considering that the father had left and would've left his ten children without a cent if not for the shifters in the Reids neighborhood who had forced him to pay child support. Most new vampires just would have accepted it at face value, but Spencer was different and his siblings to, as he was sure that the other three had also argued against it, just like Spencer had.

"This gives you money of your own if you want to retire and travel the world with Keziah," Hotch suggested. "Even if you want to settle down somewhere and raise a hundred children, you'll need money to provide them with things and yes, you would have eventually earned that much through your own investments, but this gives you a head start. Yes, Keziah has a ton of money and would've helped you fund anything that you wanted to do together, whether that was travel the world have a ton of children or something else entirely, but this way you can contribute and start making investments of your own. Despite the fact that you don't have a business degree I would think that you'd be very good at making investments, considering how intelligent and logical you are."

"I've already made a few," Spencer admitted, somewhat shyly. "Once I got control of my strength so I could operate a computer keyboard without destroying it I did research and made a few investments, although I'll have to wait and see how good they are. Keziah read the same information I did and agreed with me that they'd be good investments and bring in money, so I went ahead and did it."

"If my sister agreed with you, you can be assured that they'll likely make money, although all of us do make a bad investment occasionally, but then you can't predict everything," Hotch said. He was pleased that he finally seemed to convince Spencer that there was no ulterior motive behind being given so much money.

Reid tried not to stare at his boss for Aaron Hotchner was so different from his own father that it was totally unreal. Ever since he and Hotch had met his boss had been nothing but kind, if stern. He had to admit that he had been somewhat wary and scared of Aaron Hotchner at first, for after all he was a centuries old vampire. A lot of vampires that old didn't care about anyone, except themselves and their family, as they were totally self-involved. After working with him for a few months though, what he had been thinking when he had discovered that his boss was a vampire didn't come close to describing the man himself. Hotch was stern sure, but he was also genuinely, honest, compassionate and kind, although he tried to hide it behind his no-nonsense exterior. Ever since he and Keziah had gotten together he had seen another side of his boss one that he didn't show to just anyone.

"If it's a standard practice to give a new vampire this much money why haven't I heard of it before?" asked Reid.

"Because we keep it to ourselves," Hotch explained, "as should be obvious. We don't just turn anyone into a vampire that wants to become one and if humans, magicals or shifters learned that they could get millions of dollars just by being turned into what we are a lot of them would want to do it for that fact alone and not for the correct reasons. There's enough greedy selfish vampires in the world that were born and have yet to outgrow that part of their personalities, so most of us are not about to turn greedy and selfish humans, magicals or shifters, just so they can continue being that way, unless the situation is unique. Greedy and selfish people can turn into serial killers on this case serial vampires, not that that happens all that often, just that the potential is there and the few times it's happened in our history they were quickly identified and hunted down."

Reid nodded as that was about the answer he had expected.

"I suppose I should have told you what would be happening, as soon as you agreed to be turned as I knew of your upbringing, but I left that up to Keziah, since she's your mate."

"It's fine, Aaron, I understand better now," Reid promised, as the last of his misgivings disappeared like fine mist. There were no strings attached to the millions of dollars that he and his three siblings had been given, it was done because it was standard practice to get new vampires started on a new life. Yes, the money was much more than the usual amount particularly in his case, but then he knew that Keziah was a very generous person and this gave him more to invest which was probably why she had done it.

"So are you planning on having anymore children or are you planning you do what Emily did and have Keziah womb removed?" asked Hotch changing the subject, not that the other matter had been settled.

"Keziah and I just decided to let whatever happens, happen," Reid said with a shrug, "although personally, I grew up with nine siblings, so I don't mind having quite a few pups running around and I know you and Keziah have quite a few siblings."

"That's the understatement of the century," Hotch snorted when Reid paused. "My parents just had another while you were gone on your sabbatical, a boy, but unlike you and your siblings my new brother wasn't born because my parents love each other, but because my father refuses have himself permanently fixed."

"If she does get pregnant again it probably won't be for awhile considering I'm gone so much of the time and I hear that a lot a female vampires tend to have trouble in that area," Reid said.

"Emily and I certainly didn't, but then Emily's half magical, which probably has at least something to do with it," Hotch said.

"Probably," Reid agreed. "Of course, it might also have to do with the fact that mates have sex a lot and with the same person, not different ones."

Hotch thought about it and decided it made good logical sense.

"If Keziah wasn't mostly at home, since she can work from there we wouldn't have considered having anymore, at least not right now. There could be a number of unknown factors involved, the fertility of the woman in question, especially if she was human or magical since shifters tend to be pretty fertile for the most part and usually all it takes is one time. It could also have something to do with the age of the woman in question when she was changed into a vampire. Keziah and all your female siblings were born vampires, so perhaps, that has something to do with it as well."

"That's possible, as vampires have never been studied extensively, mostly because we won't allow it and because it's impossible to get a needle into our stonelike skin. You would need special equipment like what they used to give a vampire female a c-section and we aren't about to allow a sample of our venom to get out to some strange science lab as who knows what kind of experiments they would do with it. Yes, we have our own government, but the human government has been wanting to do experiments on some of us for centuries and we'll never allow that. Mostly because someone unscrupulous might get a hold of the data, then try to wipe us out or create some sort of weapon that could be used to wipe out a large part of the population, not just vampires. No, it isn't worth the risk," Hotch said.

"You're right there's a lot of unscrupulous people in the world and some of those are in high government positions," Reid agreed, "and that doesn't even include foreign powers. So how is JJ's relationship going with Rossi? I know they had twin girls just a few months ago."

Reid knew all about the relationship between his good friend and the woman he thought of like sister JJ and the ancient, handsome and debonair vampire who had helped found the BAU David Rossi. Reid had had no right to object to their relationship, especially once he found out that the two of them were mates. so he had kept his opinions to himself, as he knew his friend was very cautious where relationship were concerned due to a bad break up with William LaMontagne Jr. Besides, if Rossi felt even a tenth of what what he felt for Keziah then he knew that his adopted sister was in good hands. It was something of a strange coincidence though, that three members of the team had found their mates within such a short period of time not that he was objecting, it was just a rather unlikely stroke of luck.

"It's going fine as far as I know, but since they're mates there's no way that Dave would mistreat her. Actually he's not the kind of man that would mistreat a lady anyway, just so you know, as he's more of a charmer and a ladies man or at least used to be before he and JJ met. I know he's been much happier lately and JJ to, as she no longer has that sad melancholy air about her," Hitch answered honestly.

"Alright then, I'm assuming at some point that JJ is going to be turned into a vampire?" asked Reid, though it wasn't really a question.

"Of course, she will and she agreed to it, as she's just as much in love with Dave as he is with her and you know they didn't complete the bond that is between them until fairly recently."

"That was obvious considering he got her pregnant," Reid snickered.

"Yes, well, most vampires don't think about using protection with whoever they're having sex with," Hotch admitted with a shrug. "I always did, but then I didn't want any children to look after until after I had met my mate, but most vampires aren't as responsible as I am, at least in that area. Besides, you'll find that vampires have two basic instincts and that's the mating instinct where you want to have as much sex with your mate or as many women as possible or your killer instinct where you just want to drain peoples blood. Having sex often seems to lessen that other instinct and then it is under better control. You're less likely to lose it and bite someone, so long as you keep yourself well fed and have sex as often as time allows. I do know that Dave and JJ decided together to wait at least a couple years it'll probably be at least 3 or 4 since they don't want to leave the team shorthanded. Of course, if JJ happened to be fatally injured she would be changed right away, but unless that happens its going to be awhile. I do know that she doesn't want anymore children until after she is changed, so I'm assuming she started taking those pills that prevent pregnancy, since you can't really deny your mate sex, especially after they've just gotten together."

"Do those things work when your lover is a vampire?" asked Reid truly startled.

"They should, as JJ is still human," Hotch said, "Now if she was a vampire and Dave was the human it would be different as they definitely don't work on one of our kind."

Reid thought about that then nodded, as there was still so many unknowns when it came to a vampire's biology. They were essentially dead and didn't age from the time they either got turned into vampires or were born and got to the age of seven.

The two continued to talk for a few minutes, but then Reid left to continue with his paperwork.

~~~Unexpected Bonds~~~


	18. Chapter 18

Part 18

Two years later

"Dave," JJ said, as the two of them lay together on the couch with her top of him.

"Yes, sweetheart," Rossi said, just enjoying the sensation of having his mate laying on him with his arms around her.

The two of them had gotten married not quite a year ago and Emily and Hotch had gotten married before that and so had Reid and Keziah, even if they hadn't gone for the big wedding, but had eloped instead and done the quick ceremony down at the courthouse.

Garcia had been upset that she hadn't gotten the chance to help plan Reid's and Keziah's wedding, but she should have known that Reid would never go for a big ceremony with a lot of guests, since he wasn't really a people person and didn't have a lot of friends outside the team and his siblings.

"I wanted you to know that I finally decided that I'm ready to be turned into a vampire," JJ said quietly.

"You are?" Rossi asked. He sat up, even though he was laying very comfortably on the couch with his mate in his arms.

"I am," JJ agreed as she kissed Rossi's cold lips.

"What changed your mind?" asked Rossi. "I thought we agreed to wait at least another year?"

"Well, Strauss is history for one thing," JJ began to explain, "and we have a new more understanding section chief in Matteo Cruz, who is the vampire himself, as you know. If anybody is going to understand the fact that I'm going to be changed into a vampire at some point it would be him and as much as I hate to leave the team shorthanded it's got to be done, as I'm not getting any younger. Besides, I still want to be fertile, when I eventually go through the change, because I think Reid is right and the older you are when you are changed, say like you're 50, the less fertile you tend to be. You could even be past the age you can have children. Of course, I realize that doesn't apply to those that were born vampires, but still it's a valid theory and I'm not taking any chances, as I want to have lots of children by you. I'm going to be 35 shortly, so I'm just going to bite the bullet and go through with it now."

"That's fine with me," Rossi said excited at the prospect of finally turning his mate into a vampire, as he had been waiting for this day for over three years. "When do you want to go through with it?"

"Well, it's going to have to wait at least a couple of months," JJ said.

"Why?" Rossi asked genuinely puzzled.

"Because you dope, you got me pregnant again," JJ told him poking him in the belly gently, as she didn't want to hurt her finger.

"You're pregnant?" Rossi repeated in shock.

"I am," JJ said.

"But how?" asked Rossi.

"Do I need to give you the talk about the birds and the bees?" JJ joked.

"That's not what I meant and you know it," Rossi told her accepting JJ's joke in good humor.

"I know that's not what you meant, but I couldn't resist teasing you," JJ admitted. "To answer your question I'm not sure if I forgot to take one of my pills that prevent pregnancy or if it's something about vampire sperm that circumvents every precaution you can think of to take after awhile."

"It doesn't matter, because as soon as this baby is born I'll change you so that you don't have to go through six weeks of recovery time," Rossi said.

"I'll still have to be away from the BAU for at least six months, so we need to make arrangements beforehand, because I know that wherever I go you will be there too, so they're going to be not just one short, but two."

"Reid, Aaron and Emily can take up the slack and they don't really need sleep and it's only temporary," Rossi said. "They won't mind, because when the BAU first got started there was only three of us instead of the seven we have now, even if kitten isn't a field agent."

"But that was 30 years ago," JJ said, "and the criminals are a lot smarter nowadays."

"I can help them over something like Skype," Rossi said, "and you can to."

"There is that," JJ said thinking about it. "I know that's what Spence did, when he was gone due to having to gain control of his bloodlust and learning to control his strength."

"So we'll still be okay and if the team really needs us and they can contact us 24 hours a day since we don't sleep. Back when the BAU first started there wasn't such things, as Skype or video conferencing, but now it's much easier to stay in contact, even if we can't actually be there," Rossi said.

"Alright, you've convinced me," JJ agreed.

"So if you're pregnant how come you're not showing?" Rossi asked that he patted her belly gently.

"I am a little if you look under my clothes, but not much. I know my body and I guarantee you that I'll be showing even more in a week. I'm guessing the reason I'm not showing too much is I'm only carrying one instead of two. If you look at my stomach closely you'll see a very slight rounding and bulge, even if it isn't too noticeable yet," JJ explained.

Dave pulled JJ's shirt up and studied her belly closely and discovered that his mate was absolutely correct that there was a very slight bulge and her belly was rounder than it had been at any other time, except when she was pregnant with their twin daughters

"Yes, now that I'm paying attention your belly is bulging ever so slightly," Rossi said. "I don't know how I could've miss that initially."

"I've only noticed it for the last couple of days," JJ said, "since we've been really busy during the last week or so as we just got back from a case, so I'm not surprised that you've been distracted and haven't noticed. In another few days my belly will have grown and you definitely would've noticed then."

"But I've been watching you sleep since it's not like I can actually do that and you would think I would have noticed."

"Don't let it worry you to much," JJ told Dave kissing his nose. "Considering I told you no more children until after I was a vampire, this was something of a surprise, not that I'm unhappy about it, especially since you're going to be turning me into a vampire directly after this baby is born."

"Well, Henry and Michael sure were happy to be getting two new playmates even if they were girls," Rossi said his lip quirking, as he remembered his adopted son's reactions. "Of course, now Rosaline and Reagan are bigger than they are and look older to even if they're actually younger."

"Their brains are also far ahead or Henry and Michael as well," JJ agreed. "At the rate our daughters are learning and they'll be ready to go to college by the time they're four, maybe five."

"Well, it's a good thing we hired that tutor then, somebody who can keep them from being bored and entertain all four of them at the same time," Rossi said trying not to sound to smug and failed.

"There's no need to sound so smug," JJ said poking him gently in the belly, as she had learned not to hit him playfully on any part of his body since his skin was stone hard, as she only got hurt as a result. Once she was a vampire it would be different, but until then she was going to have to be careful, so she didn't at least sprain her finger. "I know I was against it initially, but you were right and our daughters are way ahead of their peers and Michael and Henry were ahead of their age group when they finally started kindergarten. It's too bad that we can't send Rosaline and Reagan there, but technically they're only two and by the time the old enough to go there'll be nearly grown up."

"Yes, vampire children are homeschooled either by their parents or a tutor," Rossi said. "Unfortunately, they're not taught to socialize until a later date and they're never allowed to be around mortal children until their parents are sure that their bloodlust is under control, although that's going to be easier for them than normal simply because they're half human and not full vampires."

"Well, at least there are other vampire children around Hotch's and Emily three for instance and also Spence's and Keziah's four, so at least ours haven't been without playmates."

"Which was rather unusual at least back when I was born," Rossi admitted. "Nowadays, I know that vampires who have children try to settle in a community that also has children of the same sort, so that they have playmates and learn how to socialize with their own kind and then it's only a small step to socializing with mortals, but that's not always possible"

"We were lucky I know that," JJ said. "I wouldn't want to leave my job for anything, but for my children I would, but luckily, that wasn't necessary thanks to Hotch and Emily having children and Spence and Keziah."

"Yes, we've been very lucky," Rossi said. "Giving vampire children a chance to socialize prevents so many things, like them feeling isolated for instance, which only leads to them having a hard time fitting in once they are grown."

"So you never have told me how many brothers and sisters you do have," JJ said.

"Well, I didn't know you wanted to know," Rossi said, "it's not like it's a big secret or anything."

"So?" JJ asked with a smile, even as she snuggled comfortably into her mate's arms and Dave held her close.

"Both my parents are ancient," Rossi said, "and they were lucky and happened to find each other before they were 300 years old. They are mates just like you and I are or Emily and Aaron. As to how many children they have at last count, as they are still having them every decade or two? It's around 1000."

JJ whistled appreciatively. "Damn! I expected the number to be high, but not that many," JJ exclaimed in astonishment.

"I always thought that papà should have himself permanently fixed, so they can't have anymore children as I think that's way too many, even with your mate, but then that's just me," Rossi admitted.

"I agree and that it's no wonder they're so many vampires when they never get too old to have children and most of them aren't exactly responsible and limit the number that they have," JJ said still in shock at the number.

"Yes, I admit I wasn't very responsible either, as I've fathered around 500 or so and that doesn't include our daughters or the one that you're pregnant with now. I think the only thing that limits the number of vampires is the fact that most of them them never find there mate and aren't very fertile, especially if it's just a one night stand, the women in particular. Of course, that doesn't include the ones that are only half vampire that were born from a human woman or vice versa," Rossi said. "I do know one thing though and that is that we don't eat the food supply, or mess up the environment like the humans and sometimes the shifters and magicals do. We have mostly not been responsible for the toxic waste, the depletion of the ozone, or any number of ecological disasters. If the ozone layer does get depleted past the point that anything mortal will die out we'll still be alive, but only if we can still get blood, since that is the one thing we need to survive."

"Let's not be so morbid I don't expect that to happen for centuries, if ever," JJ said firmly. "So what do you want this time a girl or a boy?"

"Well, it doesn't really matter to me since we already have two of each, even if Henry and Michael are only adopted. To me they are still my sons, who will have a choice when they get older. If I had a preference it would be a boy since we already have two girls that have both our genes and this will give Henry and Michael another boy they can play with."

"Who will also outgrow them just like Rosaline and Reagan have," JJ said.

"Well, that can't be helped as much as I would like to change them, but if I did that they would never grow past the age they are now," Rossi said. "They deserve to grow up, go to college, and perhaps, be changed once they get to their early 20s, although I'd prefer them to be in their late 20 or even early 30s before they are turned into vampires."

"They'll be grown up soon enough, don't rush it along," JJ said, "as they're already seven."

"So how many children do you want, before I get permanently fixed?" asked Rossi.

"I don't really know," JJ admitted, "but considering even vampire children have a much shorter gestation period and I wasn't in as much pain with the girls, as I was with Henry and Michael, particularly in the last trimester, I wouldn't mind having probably two or three hundred spaced out over centuries through and not all back to back."

"I have to admit when it comes to having children vampire woman do have an easier time with pregnancy," Rossi admitted, "much easier then mere mortals."

"If I have say two back to back at least I will give our children a playmate if I don't have twins that is."

"And only if there aren't other vampire children around their age in the neighborhood of where we are living," Rossi said and JJ nodded, accepting that one caveat.

"We can have a child or two and then once they are all grown up and off to college, I think a few years by ourselves where it's just us and where I'm not going to have anymore, even if I have to go through an operation to accomplish that would be paradise."

"We could travel in between times," Rossi mused, "and then settle somewhere for a few years, have a few more children and watch them grow and then travel some more. I have houses, condos and apartment buildings all over the world and I'd love to show them to you. I rent them out when I'm not using them, although I have lived in all of them at some point, as even if I own the whole building I set aside an apartment just for me and whoever I'm with at that time. It's usually on the top floor, the penthouse, as I like to be comfortable and I don't see any reason to live in squalor or some tiny apartment just to save money."

"That's a good plan," JJ said calmly kissing him again. JJ had gotten used to Dave being as rich as Midas as most vampires were. He didn't make a big deal out of it, so she forgot most of the time that Dave would never have to work a day in his entire existence if he didn't care to. But JJ know very well that Dave was an extremely intelligent man vampire or not and that he would be bored if he didn't keep himself busy, which was why he worked at the BAU in the first place and why he had been one of its founders. "That's still a few decades away as I'm not going to leave the BAU for awhile at least and you just came back, so we'll have to put that idea on the backburner for a few decades."

"I'll start making arrangements first thing in the morning," Rossi promised. "You're right when you said that our new section chief will understand about me wanting to turn you into a vampire and he'll probably wonder why I haven't done it before now. Once I explain about how Reid was already away to be turned into a vampire, and we met shortly after he went on his sabbatical I believe Cruz will understand exactly why we haven't done it until now. Though I suppose we could have done it as soon as Cruz took over, since Reid was back by then,"

"Alright then," JJ said looking completely relaxed, as she and Dave simply sat together holding each other.

"I'll be with you every step of the way," Rossi promised his mate kissing the side of her head.

"I know it, but we need to make arrangements for somebody look after children for at least the next few months and we also need to find a way to explain to Henry and Michael exactly why they're parents are going to be gone. As for Rosaline and Reagan their brains are probably around 20 years old when it comes to understanding and knowledge, even there're only technically two so they will understand why we can't be with them for awhile."

"Actually our daughters are probably capable of looking after their brothers considering, as you said that their brains are way ahead when it comes to understanding and knowledge even if their bodies only look around ten. I'm sure that Aaron and Emily won't mind having them at their place for the duration or maybe Keziah and Reid as they have a tutor for theirs who also acts as sort of a nanny."

"We can leave them here with the tutor you hired," JJ suggested, "pay Tony extra."

"Actually we could take our daughters with us as the new baby at least will have to come with us, since the first year for a vampire child is very important and they need to know who their parents are and who's taking care of them. Henry and Michael, on the other hand, have heartbeats and you don't need to be around anybody that's mortal until after we are sure you have control of your bloodlust."

"You don't really believe I would harm my sons do you?" JJ asked, upset at that very idea.

"There's no way of knowing," Rossi said, as he held his mate gently. "You might not as after all you are their mother, but you probably won't remember that for the first month or two, as it takes awhile for a vampire human memories to return and it's different for every individual."

"Well, say after the transformation we try to arrange a visit after the first month," JJ suggested. "If I look like I'm going to attack them then you'll just get them out of there before I can."

"That might be possible," Rossi mused, "so long as there're several older vampires like Aaron and Emily on standby since a newborn is much stronger then an older vampire. Those two should be able to restrain you long enough for me to get Henry and Michael out of your smelling and hearing range. If it works out like we both hope they can stay with us, although they do have school come to think of it."

"I hadn't thought of that," JJ said, "but you're right they do have school, so staying with some of the people we mentioned might be better, so somebody can get them to school like normal."

"You can call them every day, even several times a day," Rossi suggested as a compromise, "once you get control of your strength that is, so you don't crush the phone."

"I suppose that will have to do, although they can at least come to visit us on the weekends," JJ said and Dave nodded thinking that was another good compromise

"I know you're going to miss Henry and Michael, but they can't afford to miss six months to a year of schooling just so they can be with us," Rossi said.

"Just as I can't afford to wait until they go to college before I go through my transformation as that would be another 11 years," JJ said by way of agreement. "Believe me, I understand that we are in a rather difficult situation here or at least delicate. If Henry and Michael had never been born then it wouldn't be a problem, but they were and I'm not about to give them up for anything."

"Me either," Rossi promised. "They're old enough to understand that their mother would have to be gone longer than normal and they're used to both of us being gone for days at a time anyway, so they should have an easier time accepting that this is no different except you'll be gone for much longer."

"Perhaps, my mother could come and stay with them for the next year," JJ suggested. "She's capable of looking after two 7 years old boys, getting them to school, keeping them entertained and helping them with their homework. I know she's not exactly very enthusiastic about you changing me into a vampire, even though she knows it's what I want and that it's necessary, but she does love her grandchildren, our daughters included."

"That'll work," Rossi said knowing that Sandy Jareau wasn't very fond of him and not because he was a vampire, but because he was going to turn her daughter into one. No matter how many times it had been explained to her that her her daughter was his mate and that he would have done so anyway against her will if JJ hadn't agreed on her own it hadn't mattered.

"I know you don't like my mother very much, but it's still the perfect solution," JJ said.

"It's not that I don't like her," Rossi corrected, "it's that she doesn't like the fact that you're going to be turned into what I am just so we'll always be together. If she could just accept that it's going to happen no matter how much she disapproves then we'd get along just fine."

"She'll come around," JJ said, "once she sees I don't change much once I'm a vampire. I firmly believe it's because she's already lost one daughter and she doesn't want to lose her last remaining child, even if I'll technically, still be alive she fears that I won't be the same daughter she remembers."

"That makes a great deal of sense," Rossi admitted after thinking about it for a few moments, "so you believe that once she sees that you haven't changed that much that she'll accept it?"

"I believe so," JJ said, "but we'll just have to wait and see."

Yes, they would and hopefully, his, Jennifer was correct about her mother as things would go much smoother when Sandy Jareau visited if she was.

~~~Unexpected Bonds~~~

"Keziah is pregnant," Reid announced, as soon as the team was done discussing the case. The team was on its way to Manchester, New York to help the police solve and catch a particularly devious unsub that had been evading them for several months, despite their best efforts. It was clear that they should have been called in much sooner as the count of the dead was nearing 20, but the police in New York had been particularly obstinate not wanting to call in outside help, but finally they'd had no choice as the death toll continued to rise

"She is?" JJ asked before anyone else got over being stunned at Reid's announcement. JJ for her part was several weeks pregnant herself. She was starting to really show now and was only a week or so away from being halfway through her pregnancy.

"She is, by about a week," Reid confirmed.

"This is great news," Hotch said. "Congratulations."

"Thank you, although we really didn't expect for Keziah to get pregnant quite this soon as it's only been a couple of years after all since our quads were born we figured it'd be at least another year," Reid said. "It's not that we're not happy about it, we're just surprised that it happened."

"Just think, our children can grow up together as they'll only be a couple of weeks apart in age," JJ said happily.

"Congrats," Emily told Reid who nodded in thanks.

"Yes, congratulations from me to," Morgan told his friend, although it made him sad to think that all his friends on the team had found significant others. Well, all except his baby girl and he still didn't have anyone, but it was largely his own fault he knew, as he had refused to settle down for years now and he wasn't getting any younger, while the rest of the team except for Garcia hadn't been afraid to fall in love. Of course, Morgan well knew that the bonds between the three couples made a load of difference and it made him wish to find his own mate, but that had not yet occurred and it might not.

"Thanks, Morgan," Reid said giving his longtime friend a huge grin.

"So what are you hoping for a boy or a girl?" asked Emily.

"It doesn't really matter, which sex it is as we already have two of both. Whichever sex we get we will love and I don't care if it's a girl or a boy and neither does Keziah."

"It could possibly be twins," Hotch suggested. "You were a shifter after all before you were changed and some of that heritage remains, since you can still shift shape. Who knows what else of your shifter heritage remains maybe the ability to have more then one child at a time more often then is normal."

"That's possible, as not much is known about a vampire's biology or if those that are changed into one instead of being born are different," Reid agreed having already thought of that, a long time ago actually, but didn't say so. "Unfortunately, there's no way to know at this point. So JJ, I hear you're going to the same process I went through not too long ago," Reid said.

"I am just as soon as this baby is born as I am more than ready to get it over with. Besides, now that we have more understanding section chief with Strauss gone this is the time to do it," JJ said.

Unfortunately or fortunately, depending on whether you liked or hated her, Erin Strauss had been murdered and nobody regretted her demise not even the usually gentle and forgiving Reid, as the whole team thought that she had it coming, although they would've settled for her either retiring or being fired, just so she was no longer an albatross around their necks. Thankfully Matteo Cruz was a vampire and so he would understand about JJ and Dave being gone for at least six months, although it would likely be a year in order to undergo the transformation and to gain control of her bloodlust, among other things.

"There are certain advantages," Reid admitted, "I do miss being able to drink coffee though."

"Think of it this way, you no longer need it to wake you up as you don't need to sleep," Morgan teased his friend. "Sometimes I thought you had coffee for blood you drank so much of it."

"That didn't matter Morgan, you have your favorite things and coffee was mine," Reid said mildly.

"I can think of a lot of things I love more than coffee even if I do drink a lot of it, though not as much as you used to," Morgan said.

"It doesn't really matter, Morgan," Emily told the big black man. "There're a lot of things that vampires who were made say they miss the most and it's different for every person I've ever talked to. Reid misses coffee the most, but I've known vampires who miss steak or orange juice or tea or french fries or a big juicy cheeseburger and milkshake. Some of those vampires were changed involuntarily, but Reid knew what he was getting into and agreed to it."

"I never thought about it that way," Morgan admitted.

"See I'm not the only one that misses some type of food the most and in my case it's coffee hands-down," Reid said.

"It must be worse for those who were made into vampires, since they are used to eating regular food, while those born that way don't miss something they've never had," Morgan speculated.

"I would definitely agree with that statement," Reid said. "Sometimes I think about fixing myself a cup of coffee and then realize that I can't drink it anymore and it still smells wonderful, but I know if I try drink it that it'll only taste nasty."

"You actually tried, didn't you," Rossi asked amused.

"I did," Reid admitted with a shrug. "I won't try that again, but that doesn't mean I still don't miss my coffee. I suspect I'll probably always miss it, although me wanting to drink a cup I'm sure will fade after awhile."

"That's what I've heard," Hotch agreed also secretly amused, although he knew it was pretty common for a newly changed vampire to try to eat or drink something they had once loved and for it to taste absolutely revolting. As for him he had been born a vampire and had never had human food, although he did admit some of it did smell wonderful, while other things smelled nasty. Coffee was one of those things that that smelled good and he thought would taste great, but he knew better than to try it.

"Well, I suppose I had better get my fill of my favorite foods then before I can't anymore," JJ said, "especially since I'm not going to have to avoid gaining weight once I am a vampire. I don't regret my decision to be changed or anything, since I love Dave more than I love all my favorite foods combined, but I know I'm going to miss them."

Dave kissed JJ cheek for that statement and JJ didn't even blush, as she was used to Dave showing her affection in public, even if it was just a kiss on the cheek.

"That's natural I've learned," Emily told her friend. "I for one am glad that you're going to be changed into a vampire because that means I won't lose you once you die of old age. I've never had a sister and I had begun to think of you that way."

"And where does Penny fit into that?" JJ teased.

"Oh, I think of her as a sister to and remember I've told you this before," Emily reminded JJ, "but I doubt very much that she'll want to be changed into a vampire so she's going to die in a few decades and I won't have her around for centuries to come."

"I never thought about the fact that when a vampire has a mortal for a friend that they lose them in a few decades unless they are changed into vampires before they die," Morgan said.

"That's true and it always hurts us deeply, but it also keeps us anchored to humanity so that we don't think of mortals as a food source and nothing more," Rossi told Morgan. "I've lost plenty of people that I cared for quite a bit actually and a few lovers where she and I were together for decades. Still it might be painful, but losing someone you love or at least care about, but it's part of living and it helps keep us anchored in reality. There have been some of my kind that lost touch with reality, because they didn't really live with humans, magical and shifters or at least interacted with them, but outside society. Those particular vampires saw mortals only as a food source and because of that fact they lost touch with reality and they were quickly hunted down and destroyed once their crimes were discovered."

"Even vampires need human contact, and if they don't have that at least every few years, then, eventually their sense of reality snaps," Reid said. "This happens even with humans if they're not particularly fond of their own kind, in other words, extremely antisocial, and they stay locked up in their apartment or their house for years and lose touch with humanity. In humans, magical or shifter cases this can cause delusions and hallucinations and often leads to their death usually by their own hands, well, either that or they end up in a sanitarium."

"Vampire law is harsh for a reason," Hotch told Morgan and JJ who didn't know what you think. "A vampire who loses touch with reality and starts killing mortals can kill hundreds, in the space of just a year or two. There is no cure for a vampire who has lost touch with their own humanity and you can't imprison them, because there is no prison that would hold them, so death is really the only answer. We are distrusted enough by the general populace and a vampire that kills in order to feed, well, that makes the distrust worse and is no better than a human murderer who is put in prison and sometimes given the death penalty depending on what they've done."

"I suppose," JJ said finally.

"Trust me, love," Rossi said taking her hand in his own, "there's only one way to deal with a vampire that kills mortals for food. A vampire is to strong to be put in prison, as they would just bend the bars and escape and no guards bullet is going to affect them, other than to maybe sting a little as they hit their skin."

"You're right," JJ finally admitted, "but I just hate the thought of someone being put to death just because there is no other way to hold them."

"Every species has its laws and the vampires are no different in that regard," Hotch told JJ with an understanding smile. "Most behavior is ignored, like how many children that a vampire has is not limited. We have very few laws, but I have to admit that the ones we do have are all harsh, but necessary. There are always consequences for breaking the law no matter the species and us vampires are nearly indestructible under most circumstances."

"Besides, even mortals have the death penalty," Reid said, "even if that's a relatively painless death by lethal injection. Yes, I know some states have abolished it and just go for life in prison, but that wouldn't work for a vampire, because even if we weren't super strong, we are almost immortal and it would be a cruel and unusual punishment to keep one us in prison for the rest of our existences. Believe me, death is far kinder in this case as it is over relatively quickly."

"Even if we could keep one locked up without them breaking out immediately once a vampire starts down a certain path it's nearly impossible for them to change and it would take something extremely drastic and profound liked meeting their mate for example," Rossi added kissing his mate's cheek.

"I didn't think of it like that," JJ admitted with a shiver. "Since vampires do live forever, death would definitely be kinder."

"I definitely agree with that, as I can't imagine being locked up for centuries or even decades," Morgan said shuddering, "but then I'm a shifter and we don't do very well being locked up in prison and the death toll for our species is high in one of those places and even if one of our kind doesn't die we are forever changed or at least that's what I've heard, as I've never been a prisoner and I have no intention of ever being one."

"I agree with that statement a hundred percent," Rossi said shuddering at the possibility of being locked away having very little human contact and what was allowed was regulated.

Reid tactfully changed the subject and JJ shot him a grateful look, as she wished she had never said what she had, but it had been too late to change them once the words were out of her mouth.

~~~Unexpected Bonds~~~


	19. Chapter 19

Part 19

"Are you ready to begin?" Rossi asked JJ, as she lay totally naked except for a pair of panties on the bed.

It was exactly 2 months later and JJ had given birth to a beautiful baby boy, whom they had named Antonio. As soon as JJ was released from the hospital, she and Dave had driven up to the house that Hotch owned, the same one that Reid and his three siblings had been changed into a vampire in. Hotch had been kind enough to loan the place to his old friend Dave and to JJ, so they would have a safe place for JJ to spend her time as a newborn.

Their twin daughters, Rosaline and Reagan and their infant son Antonio were with them, but Henry and Michael had had to stay behind and their grandmother Sandy Jareau who was looking after them.

JJ and Dave had done their best to explain the situation to two seven year old boys, but it had been difficult, as really there was no simple explanation that two young boys would really understand, no matter how intelligent they were. JJ had promised to call every day, and that they could come up and see them on the weekends.

"Yes, I'm ready," JJ promised her mate leaning up to kiss him on the lips one last time as a human.

"Alright then," Rossi said taking the first needle of the tray that was sitting on a chair. There were nine needles in all and all of then contained his venom. Dave knew exactly what to do and so gently inserted the first needle into a vein in his mate's neck and pushed down the plunger.

JJ started screaming almost immediately as the venom raced through her system, but Dave never allowed his concentration to break as he inserted the rest of the needles one by one.

"I'll stay right beside you until you wake," Rossi promised, as he lay down on the other side of the bed from his mate who was withering in pain, as his venom worked almost like an acid, except it wasn't killing her, but turning her into what he had been all his life.

Dave absolutely hated hearing and seeing his, Jennifer in such intense pain, but he knew it was necessary in order to change her into what he was and so he lay there and bore the heartbreaking scene as stoically as he could.

"I'm so sorry, I had to do this to you, love," Rossi said with deep regret in his voice.

JJ didn't respond and in fact she couldn't and Dave wasn't even sure that she heard him, not that it mattered, as he continued to lay beside her and gently hold her hand as she went through the transformation that would last anywhere from 36 to 72 hours as every vampire who was ever changed was different.

"Will mom be okay, dad?" came a small female voice from the doorway

"She'll be just fine Roz," Rossi promised. "Your mother is now being turned into a vampire like, you, your sister and I am. This is a necessary step so that she won't die on us in a few decades. I know it's hard to hear your mother screaming in agony, but I know you and your sister are old enough to understand why it's happening, since your brains are way ahead of your physical bodies or your actual ages. Unfortunately, the process to turn a mortal into one of our kind is painful and there's no way to prevent that. Believe me, I would prevent it if I could, as I don't like hearing Jennifer screaming in agony anymore than you do."

The deep pain and regret in Dave's voice caused Roz to enter the room, climb onto the bed beside her father and snuggle into his chest, even though she was getting too big for that now.

"How will this process take?" Rosaline asked.

"Anywhere from 36 to 72 hours," Rossi told his daughter, as he hugged her to his chest. Rosaline and her sister Reagan were very precious to him, because they were the first children he'd had by his mate, his Jennifer.

"That's a long time," Rosaline said.

"Yes, it is and it'll probably be 72 hours in her case, because Jennifer is still healing from giving birth to your brother and therefore, the venom that I injected into her bloodstream is likely going to take longer as it will have to heal the incision that the doctors made in order for your brother to be born. How is Antonio and Reagan doing by the way?" Rossi asked.

"Both are fine, dad, you just concentrate on mom," Rosaline told her father.

"You know you're not supposed to leave the house, right?" Rossi said, just making sure that his daughter knew the rules.

"Yes, dad, we went over the rules about 30 times, before we even got here," Rosaline said rolling her eyes, "and then again several more times after we arrived, so yes, I know. No leaving the house at least not without adult supervision and Uncle Aaron and Aunt Emily promised to be here on at least some of the weekends and take me and my sister to places like the zoo."

"Okay fine," Rossi conceded, as he knew that both Rosaline and Reagan were more responsible than the most other two-year-olds if only because their brain power was way ahead of their actual ages as were their bodies. "Forgive a father for being worried about his daughters."

"There's no need to worry dad, somebody's got to look after Antonio after all until mom is able to. I do miss Henry and Michael though."

"I know you do, I do too, but they have school and your grandmother was thrilled to look after them. They too will be visiting on some weekends, just as soon as I'm sure your mother has her bloodlust under sufficient control. Right now, however, it's better that they stay away as I have no idea how Jennifer will react to two children who actually have blood in their veins and beating hearts. It will likely be a few months before she has the control necessary in order to see your brothers for even a few minutes. She would never forgive herself if anything happened to Henry and Michael, especially if it was because of her and her inability to control herself."

It went without saying that Dave would never forgive himself either, as he loved Henry and Michael just as much as his daughters and his newborn son.

"It's only for a few months I know, but Reagan and I will be off to college likely next year," Rosaline said.

"Well, there's nothing that says that you can't go visit them," Rossi said. "You can go back with Uncle Aaron and Aunt Emily, and see them when they come on the weekends and even stay with your grandmother for a few days as she adores you."

"She doesn't seem to like you to much," Rosaline pointed out and Dave chuckled, as he should've known that his daughters would pick up on the dislike between him and Jennifer's mother.

"It's not so much that she hates me, she just didn't want her daughter to be changed into what we are," Rossi explained gently. "Your mother believes, that once your grandmother sees that she is basically the same as she used to be she'll come around."

"Why wouldn't grandmother want mom to be just like us?" Rosaline asked genuinely puzzled.

"I think it has more to do with the fact that she's afraid to lose her last remaining child," Rossi gently explained trying to ignore his wife's screams of agony. "Your Aunt Rosaline who you were named for committed suicide many years ago and this affected your mother and grandmother deeply. In fact, it affected everyone in her family and your grandfather that you've never met, eventually died of that grief, even if it was not for many years. Your grandmother is just trying to deal with the fact that things are rapidly changing around her and she doesn't want to lose your mother like she lost your aunt. Your mom believes that once she sees that things are not going to change too much that she'll come around."

"I suppose," Rosaline said not sure if her mother's conclusions were right.

"You'll see," Rossi told his daughter gently kissing the top of her head from where she was still snuggled into his chest. "You'll learn, as you go through life, that things are not always as they appear to be. You might be only two and I know you're far ahead of that in brain power, but for some things you can only learn by experiencing the life that is all around you. Your mother and I can teach you many things, but this is not one of them. Now why don't you go spend time with your sister and your baby brother as he'll grow up way too fast on all of us."

"Alright," Rosaline agreed scurrying off the bed and out of her father's loving and protective embrace.

"Don't you and your sister worry as your mother will be back with us in just a few hours," Rossi reassured his worried daughter gently. "She might not remember us right away, since a vampire's memories tend to be vague for at least the first few weeks, but hopefully, having us around all the time will bring her memory back more quickly then normal."

Rosaline left with her father's assurances ringing in her ears, but she couldn't help, but be worried about her mother who was undergoing the very painful transformation into a vampire. Rosaline knew that this transformation was necessary so that her mother would never leave them by dying, but that didn't mean that she or Reagan for that matter wanted to hear their mother's screams of agony. Luckily, her mom's screams of pain would end in just a few hours and Rosaline took that as a promise from her father whom she loved, as he knew much more about these type of things than she did.

~~~Unexpected Bonds~~~

Dave continued to talk softly to his, Jennifer as she continued to scream as the venom raced through her system, totally focused on the woman he loved with every atom that made up his body and his soul.

Abruptly his Jennifer's screaming cut off and Dave immediately fell silent and watched his mate waiting for her to open her eyes as calmly as possible.

Suddenly JJ's eyes opened and they were a bright newborn red instead of their usual beautiful deep blue.

"Who are you? Where am I? What am I?" JJ asked her voice several octaves lower.

"Don't you remember, love?" Rossi asked, as he rose from the bed slowly and as soon as he did Jennifer was on the other side of the room in a heartbeat. "You and I are mates, you're now a vampire, as you were human before. You agreed to the transformation so that we would never be apart. Can't you feel the connection that is flowing between us so strongly? I certainly can and it has intensified a lot since you finished your transformation just a moment ago. I'm David Rossi your mate and husband and you are my wife Jennifer Jareau Rossi. You and I married over a year ago and we were together for a long time before that. We have had three children together, with hopefully, many more in the future."

"So if I'm understanding you right, the two of us are mates, are married, have had three children together while I was still human and I agreed to be turned into..." JJ paused.

"A vampire," Rossi supplied.

"A vampire," JJ said looking thoughtful. "You don't look much like a vampire at least from what I am remembering, as they have red eyes and you don't."

"That's due to the artificial blood that was created by several scientists that we have to drink now, as drinking from human is now illegal and will get you hunted down and killed. However, thanks to the artificial that we drink now and have for just over a hundred years it is much harder to tell when someone is a vampire, as our other attributes can be explained away, white and cold skin and so forth can be explained as a medical condition. Our kind did used to have red eyes, but now that we are no longer drinking human blood we do not, unless you are a newborn like yourself."

"My memories are coming back slowly," JJ said after a moment. "We have twin daughters Rosaline and Reagan, who are two years old and a son named Antonio who is less than a week, as you changed me into a vampire just a few days after his birth."

"With your permission," Rossi corrected.

"Yeeessss," JJ agreed after thinking about it, "with my permission. I'm seeing some other people in my memories. An older lady with sandy blond hair, two blond haired little boys who look about six or seven, a brown haired man with golden brown eyes, another blond with glasses and a man with black hair and dark brown eyes, another woman with brown hair and eyes and a big bald black man. Oh, and you're in my memories as well as two girls with long black hair and who look about ten years old. I feel close to all of them for some reason, almost like we are a family of some sort, just not in the traditional way.

"The older lady is your mother Sandy Jareau and the two boys are twins Henry and Michael and are your sons with another man and you had them before we met. I legally adopted them and so they are my sons now as well and they are being looked after by your mother as you didn't need to be around anyone with a beating heart until you got control of your bloodlust. The man with golden brown eyes is your brother in all but blood, Spencer Reid who also has found his mate and was just recently turned into a vampire just like you were. The blond with glasses is Penelope Garcia and is another sister to you, although you are not related. The black haired man and brown haired female are Aaron and Emily Hotchner and are vampires and mates just like we are, the big black man is Derek Morgan and the two little black haired girls that look about ten, but are really only two are our daughters Rosaline and Reagan. Everyone except your mother and the children are part of a unit of the FBI called the behavioral analyst unit that I helped found decades ago. Yes, they are all family to both of us, not just you as we work really closely together and have been through some harrowing experiences together as well."

JJ thought about that and memories began pouring into her mind at rapid speed. Having names to attach to the faces helped bring those memories back and it took only seconds for hundreds of memories to pour into her mind

"You okay?" asked Rossi in concern as he saw JJ standing silently not moving her eyes distant.

Finally JJ shook her head as if to clear it and said, "I'm fine. I just had all these memories come back to me at once and you putting names to faces is at least partly what caused it."

Dave relaxed at that and nodded. "Aren't you thirsty? Isn't your throat burning?"

"Now that you mention it..." JJ said her voice trailing off.

"Let's get you fed," Rossi said, as he walked over to his mate slowly so as not to startle her. "There's fresh blood in the fridge that can be heated to room temperature in just a few seconds."

JJ nodded and automatically took Dave's hand, which felt so right in her own. His palm was broad compared to her own, but was smooth, dry and warm.

Dave looked startled at the touch, but then immensely pleased.

"I feel the connection between us and I know we are mates and together before I was turned into a vampire," JJ explained. "I might not have all my memories back yet, but I do remember you and our children. I remember bits and pieces of our relationship and I'm sure I'll remember more in the next month or so."

"You will," Rossi promised giving JJ's hand a gentle squeeze. "You're already doing very well, as you instinctively took my hand, but gently and didn't squeeze it too hard as you could have caused me injury despite the fact that I'm also a vampire and just because newborns are stronger than older vampires but that will fade over the next year."

"Something told me to try to be gentle," JJ said, "some kind of instinct."

"Good," Rossi said pleased, "even if you had hurt me though, it would've been easily fixed with the right amount of blood and there would have been no permanent damage. Now, let's go get you fed and you need to at least speak to your daughters and to see our son to make sure that he's doing well."

"Who's been feeding him?" JJ asked.

"Rosaline and Reagan have taken on the responsibility, because although they are technically, only two, they look ten and their minds are even farther ahead as they are probably about 16 or 20 in that department. They know how to use a microwave and fix the artificial blood and I'm sure Antonio has grown quite a bit as you were in pain for over two days."

"So we brought them with us?" JJ asked as she tried to remember.

"Yes, because they don't have heartbeats for you to hear or blood for you to smell," Rossi explain. "Yes, they are half human, but all that means really is that their skin is much softer than our own and they are able to eat human food just so long as they want to put up with the consequences."

"Consequences?" JJ asked immediately.

"All I meant was you have to get rid of the waste some way," Rossi explained, "and so long as they stick to just drinking blood they won't have to use the toilet. They also aren't as strong if they eat human food on a regular basis as their vampire strength is greatly diminished. They're not as strong as a full vampire anyway because they are partly human, but they are much stronger than even a shifter no matter how big they are. They would have trouble taking on a full vampire particularly the males, but also the females, depending on size and such. The two of them seem to prefer blood at least so far, but I'm sure they'll have to eat food at some point to keep up the cover that they're not vampires and they won't have to throw it up like you or I would."

"Yes, that does make sense," JJ agreed trying to ignore the burning in her throat, as she and Dave walked down the stairs and into the kitchen.

Dave quickly got the pitcher of blood out of the fridge and heated up the entire thing before getting a mug out of the cabinet and pouring her some.

"Here drink this," Rossi urged. "If you need to drink the entire pitcher then that's okay to, as I made sure there was plenty just in case we needed it and Aaron and Emily can always bring more when they visit if necessary. Remember be gentle as you can shatter that mug very easily."

JJ took the metal mug gently and put it to her lips and took her first sip not expecting it to taste so delicious. She had figured it would be like medicine something you had to take in order to remain in control of yourself, but it was absolutely wonderful, the warm coppery taste just seeming to hit the correct spot as it slid down her throat softly and the smell made her mouth figuratively water.

"That's delicious," JJ exclaimed gulping down the rest of the mug. "I expected it to taste like medicine, something you had to take in order to remain in control and not attack someone, but I never expected it taste so yummy."

Dave chuckled at his mate's reaction knowing exactly how Jennifer felt as he had seen the same reaction on multiple occasions over the last 1500 years and JJ looked at him.

"I've seen the same reaction that you just had a lot over the last 1500 years when somebody takes their first sip of blood, expecting it to taste awful," Rossi explained with a smile. "I've changed a few mortals in my time, but I've also been there when somebody else does it and saw that newborn take their first sip of blood, though back then it was directly from some human that had been captured, usually a homeless person. Most newborns don't expect blood to taste absolutely delicious, like the best cut of steak would for a human or a shifter for example, even though they could smell it running in that person's veins. It took more time to learn to control your bloodlust back then before the artificial blood was created because the real, thing straight from the tap is much, much better then the stuff we have to drink now. However, the artificial stuff is still good and it does the job of keeping a vampire's thirst sated effectively and that's all that matters."

"Can I have some more, please?" JJ requested and Dave nodded pouring her another mugful.

"Drink as much as you want," Rossi repeated his statement from earlier. "When your throat stops feeling all tingly or stops burning only then have you had enough. Make sure you tell me whenever your throat starts to burn, as that will mean that you need more blood and you should have to be fed every couple of days at least for the next couple of years depending on how much energy you use. It's very important that you tell me as soon as you feel thirsty. Even though this place is out in the middle of nowhere we don't need you go on a rampage and start killing humans if you manage get back to civilization, before I or anybody else can stop you."

"I will," JJ promised, even as she shuddered at that possibility. JJ took another gulp of blood in order to calm herself down.

"Good, because I don't want you to start killing humans just because you're thirsty anymore than you want to, as that would be the beginning of the end for both you and I, because you would be hunted down and destroyed and I would follow you into death," Rossi said.

"Yes, I remember having a conversation with you and some others about that," JJ said.

"Yes, I know, but I was just reminding you, because sometimes newborns can be rather irrational until they get their emotions under control. That's not a slight against you it's just the way it is for newborn vampires," Rossi explained calmly. "Every newborn I've ever changed has been different in how they react to the same situation so you never know."

"I have to much to live for to mess it up," JJ said holding out her mug for a another cupful of blood, which Dave gladly supplied. The pitcher of blood was now more than half empty and it looked like his, Jennifer was going to finish the entire thing, not there was anything wrong with that.

"I'm feeling pretty full, so I nelieve this will be my last mugful for awhile," JJ said, as she sipped the delicious liquid.

"Well, after you finish I'll just drink the rest as I'm pretty thirsty myself and then we can go see our daughters and son for awhile, spend some quality time with them."

"And after that?" JJ asked with a little smile her red eyes sparkling mischievously, as if she already knew the answer

"Well, if you'll let me I plan to take you to bed and make love to you for days on end. Rosaline and Reagan will look after Antonio, although we do need to spend a lot of quality time with them over the next year, particularly Antonio."

"I don't know why we can't do both, because after all we do have to stay here for at least 6 months to a year if I'm remembering right," JJ said.

"That's right as you do need to get control of your bloodlust and your strength among other things," Rossi agreed. "Besides, this also allows us to spend some quality time with our children as Rosaline and Reagan at least will likely be off to college in a couple of years and while they'll be home for visits by the time they graduate they'll be fully grown and I doubt we'll see them as much as we would like."

"We'll still have Antonio," JJ said getting anxious to see her children.

"Yes, that's true but two years after they leave well he'll be going off to college as well or he likely will," Rossi said. "I'm actually glad that we have this year as normally we'd be gone two or three days out of every week, sometimes all week, so we need to treasure this time where we don't have to worry about work and just concentrate on us and our children."

"That sounds like a great idea," JJ approved, as she finished her last mug of blood and then wrapped her arms around her mate's neck kissing him very passionately on the lips remembering to be as gentle as possible so she didn't hurt him.

"Keep that up and we'll be heading straight up to the master bedroom," Rossi growled, as the two of them finally parted more than 10 minutes later. Actually to be technical it was a series of kisses, but since the two of them didn't need to breathe they didn't necessarily need to break apart, but finally they separated.

"We'll get to that, but let's go see our children for at least a little while before we do that," JJ giggled, which was music to Dave's ears, as it meant that JJ was adjusting better to being a vampire then he had thought she would and he was certainly glad of it, because it would make things easier.

Dave agreed, because he deeply loved his three children with hopefully, many more to come in future years, but he wanted his mate so badly as the last two days when she had been going through her change had been agonizing for him. He absolutely hated to see or hear her in pain, but he had known it was necessary. At least now she was nearly indestructible just like him or Aaron or Emily or Reid were. Really the only two vulnerable members of the team were Morgan and Garcia and he didn't have to worry too much about his favorite kitten, because she wasn't a field agent for the most part, so really it was only Morgan now that wasn't nearly indestructible. Though he did heal faster than a human would so long as it wasn't a major wound in a vital area.

"Well, my lady, shall I show you where our family has been staying while you were otherwise occupied?" Rossi asked playfully offering her his arm.

"Why thank you, kind sir," JJ said, as she looped her hand through her mate's offered arm.

"You're more than welcome, my lady," Rossi said with a smug look as he escorted his mate towards the stairs.

~~~Unexpected Bonds~~~

"You okay, honey?" Rossi asked JJ as she stood out on the deck that was attached to the house. "You're have been rather pensive lately."

"I'm fine," JJ promised Dave kissing him on the lips.

JJ was halfway through her newborn year and soon she would be able to rejoin the team. She had done a good job learning how to control her strength and thanks to her daughter's and her son, not to mention her husband being around she had regained her memory relatively fast. It was being around things that were hauntingly familiar that had allowed her to remember her previous life before the transformation so quickly.

"Why are you so pensive then?" Rossi asked as he put an arm around her slim waist.

"I've just been contemplating how much my life has changed ever since you and I met," JJ tried to explain, "especially in the last six months."  
"You don't regret being changed into a vampire do you?" Rossi asked just a little worriedly.

"No, I could never regret being turned into what you are, even if the process is extremely excruciatingly painful, because that means I'll never have to leave you or our children," JJ promised. She turned in her husband's arms and kissed him very tenderly on the lips, which he responded to immediately. "I was just thinking about how much my life has changed over the last few years and how much happier I've been with you and my children, well, besides, Henry and Michael in it. I didn't realize it until after you and I met but I was rather lonely, even though I had some great friends and my sons."

"Thank goodness for that," Rossi said fervently. "I wouldn't be able to live if anything happened to you, although if we had underage children I would live long enough to see them grown and then I'd find a way to kill myself."

"Well, there's no way I could not have agreed to be changed, as I knew it would happen anyway at some point," JJ said.

"Yes, you well know how I would have forced the issue if necessary, but luckily, it wasn't because you fell in love with me," Rossi said smugly.

"What can I say it's that old Italian charm," JJ teased him. "Seriously though, I think I fell in love with you, because you took the time to get to know me. You didn't push me into having sex and completing the bond until you knew I was ready. And I know how difficult that was for you, but you still had patience and took the time to get to know me and for me to get to know you."

"I wouldn't have been able to do it if we hadn't spent practically every spare minute together, except when you were sleeping," Rossi told her. "If you hadn't agreed to spend time with me outside of work, even if you remained human for awhile, then I would've had to force the issue and change you into a vampire, just so you would be able to feel the bond that is between us, but luckily, that wasn't necessary."

"I never disbelieved you when you said I was your mate," JJ told him seriously. "I never disbelieved you for the simple reason that Hotch believed you and I trusted him."

"You just didn't realize your own beauty back then," Rossi told her seriously.

"At first I could not understand what you saw in someone like me, someone who had two sons by another man, but finally I just realized that the bond wouldn't have formed if we weren't right for each other and it was easier to accept what you saw in me after that. After I was changed into a vampire six months ago I had no idea how I had denied you completing the bond for over a year. I feel it to now and there is no way I'll be separated from you, except forcefully," JJ said, as she and Dave stood together with Dave's arm around her waist and her head on his shoulder.

"I knew that you didn't think of yourself as beautiful back before you were changed," said Rossi after a few minutes of contented silence. "I thought you were the most beautiful woman I had ever laid eyes on and no, that wasn't just the bond talking, as you have a beauty that shines from within. I think I fell in love with you right there, as I realized that you hadn't let life little struggles get you down and change who you are on the inside. You hadn't let the reality of your job change your basic personality, for it to make you more serious, bitter or hateful like so many people do. You have a strength that comes from within to handle anything life throws at you and that was partly what attracted me to you in the beginning."

"You also took the time to get to know my sons, something that a lot of men didn't want to do, as they considered children a hindrance and a pain. A hinderance in getting me to sleep with them at best and hated them at worst, because they were another man's kids and not their own," JJ said. "Henry and Michael adore you and have from the beginning, which clued me in to the fact that you genuinely loved children, even if they weren't yours. You took the time to gain their trust and to play with them. I think I started to fall in love with you right then, when I saw how you were with my sons."

"I do love children, but I love Henry and Michael even more, because they're yours," Rossi explained gently, "and it doesn't matter to me that they have another man's genes as William LaMontagne doesn't even know they exist. He didn't even try to get you back when you broke up with him, which tells me that he wasn't very committed to your relationship, although I realize the distance between here and New Orleans had a lot to do with it. However, my point is that he wasn't willing to put in the effort to try to get you back, which to me means that he wasn't very committed to a relationship with you and was likely going to break up with you at some point. Besides, if they agree to be turned into vampires once they are all grown up they'll have my venom running in their veins and that will make them more mine then LaMontagne's," Rossi added smugly.

"And if they don't?" asked JJ.

"Then they will still be my sons and I'll still love them no matter what," Rossi answered immediately.

"Well, you certainly have a more mature attitude than other men I dated in the past," JJ said, as she kissed him tenderly.

"I am over 1500 years old," Rossi reminded JJ gently, even as he held his mate close to him taking in her luscious, mouthwatering scent and kissing her on the side of her neck where her pulse point had used to be. "I was bound to mature in that amount of time. Besides, some things that bother mortals nowadays don't bother me, because of what I've seen it all in my centuries on this Earth. Personally, I think it's very childish of a man not to accept another woman's children and vice versa. Also I think it's very childish to get involved with someone that doesn't accept that you already have children whether or not you were married when you did and their loss is my gain."

"It is," JJ agreed smiling, even as she snuggled into her mate's very protective embrace. "I don't plan on ever being held by anybody, but you."

"Good," Rossi growled possessively, even as he nuzzled the side of her neck. "Because as you know I'm a very possessive vampire and anybody who dares lay a hand on you without your permission will find themselves missing that hand."

"There is no need to be so violent, sweetie," JJ told Dave, even as she tilted her head to give him better access to the side of her neck. "If somebody dares try to lay a hand on me I'll take care of it, I promise. I can take care of myself and I guarantee you that man will be on the floor seconds later."

"I know you can take care of yourself," Rossi said, "but my inner vampire just wants to protect you."

"Well, you can tell your inner vampire that I can protect myself, although if I do happen to get in this situation I can't handle you're welcome to help out," JJ said, "but the only way I can see that happening is if there is another vampire involved, since I realize I'm not as strong as a lot of them."

"My scent is all over you, so I doubt another vampire will try to take you from me, but it's possible," Rossi said.

"So what are you going to introduce me to your family?" JJ asked.

"I've been meaning to do that for some time," Rossi admitted with a smile, "but now that you're a vampire I am really going to have to introduce you to my parents and at least some of my siblings. My mother and my sisters at least will be upset that they weren't invited to the wedding, but we wanted to get married quietly and their's no way we could've had a big lavish ceremony anyway, not with our jobs."

"So how many siblings do you have?" asked JJ.

"I told you not to long ago that it was around 1000," Rossi admitted, "as my parents keep having them every few years and unlike Aaron's parents mine are mates as I told you, so they truly love each other and they've been together for 2500 years."

"That's a long time," JJ said whistling appreciatively.

"It is, which is probably why they keep having so many children and papà refuse to get himself permanently fixed," Rossi said.

"There is no way I'm having over a thousand children no matter how many centuries we are together," JJ laughed trying to wrap her mind around it.

"Oh, a thousand isn't really that many, not when you've been together for 2500 years like my parents, but if you want to limit the number of children we have then we can. Only when we decide together that we've had more than enough I'll have myself permanently fixed, as I won't be procreating with anyone but you," Rossi told her tenderly.

"Well, that's for the future," JJ said. "You're right by the way that a thousand children doesn't seem like that many if you've been together over 2500 years, although I thought you told me that vampires normally don't get pregnant easily unless you're half like Emily is."

"That's mostly true, but what you're missing here is the fact that like you and I my parents are mates and want to have sex all the time, even if they've been together for quite a few centuries. When you want to have sex all the time and you spend hours or days doing so, you're bound to get pregnant more often than you would if you're just together for companionship. I've had my share of relationships over the centuries where I fell in love and then after awhile, whether that's decades or centuries later you fall out of love again and you part ways. In some cases, I fell in love with a human and they didn't want to be changed so we would together until she died and in that amount of time we had quite a few children."

"So you're saying that mates want to have sex all the time and therefore, they get pregnant more frequently than if you just together for companionship," JJ summarized.

"Yes," Rossi agreed. "It's not that those companions and I didn't have sex a lot, just not as frequently as you and I have. The only thing stopping me from keeping you in bed for days at a time is the fact we have children that need looking after and our jobs. There will come a time though when we'll be between children and jobs and at that time I plan on doing just that."

"At least we have the same job, so we get to spend double the amount of time together then we normally would," JJ said, even as she kissed his bearded cheek.

"Which is a blessing as far as I'm concerned, as being parted from you would be pure torture, if one of us had a different job," Rossi said. "So what you say we go try to create a new little brother or sister for Rosaline, Reagan, and Antonio?"

"Dave, Antonio was just born six months ago," JJ laughed. "I don't think we need to create a new child as we already have five, if you include Henry and Michael. I admit that Antonio already looks as if he's at least three years old, and his speech and brain are far ahead of even that."

"Well, if we get you pregnant how that means that the baby will be born before you have to go back to work," Rossi said with a charming grin. "Just think this will be the first baby you will have as a vampire."

"Oh, and what have we been doing for the last six months, except practicing?" JJ asked with a raised eyebrow.

"We haven't practiced as much as I would have liked to because we've been looking after our son and daughters, even if Rosaline and Reagan are capable of looking after themselves and Antonio."

"And we've had Henry and Michael visit a lot in the last few months," JJ smiled. "I was so happy to see my babies."

"You were able to do that, because you proved that you got control of your bloodlust quickly," Rossi said, "otherwise I wouldn't've let you anyway near our sons."

"I had to learn control quickly, as I really wanted to see Henry and Michael," JJ said, "and so I forced my inner vampire to understand that she was not allowed to drain humans."

"I suppose having children helped, ones that were human and that you wouldn't be allowed to see until I was sure you had gained control of your bloodlust," Rossi said slowly.

"Yes, that first test was hard," JJ admitted. "The one where you took me to the park with children and adult couples using the trails to walk or run. I know you planned it that way on purpose as there was enough humans for my inner vampire to want to attack them, but not enough for me to lose control. Luckily, for me, my inner vampire loves Henry and Michael just as much as I do and therefore, it was much easier to gain control of my bloodlust than I thought it would be."

"Well, technically, you're inner a vampire is part of you," Rossi explained, "Even if for the first few years it's like a child that doesn't know what's good for it, although it will learn by experience that draining humans is not the way to go no matter how much it wants to."

"At least my red eyes have finally started to fade, as I thought they made me look rather ghoulish and people would definitely be able to tell what I was," JJ said. "You can explain everything else away, but not your bright red eyes."

"Your red eyes did not make you look ghoulish as you put it. I thought they made you look incredibly beautiful," Rossi told his mate sincerely kissing the top of her head, thinking that his JJ's hair and skin smelled wonderful like strawberries and cream.

"You're prejudiced," JJ laughed, even as she kissed him.

"No, I'm not," Rossi protested playfully. "I just think that my opinion is the only one that matters, considering that you were used to seeing your baby blues, which are slowly starting to come back and by the time the year is up those red eyes of yours will have faded completely. I just think that you are gorgeous with the red eyes, as back before that artificial blood was created we had to get our nourishment someway and that normally meant draining humans, unless we could get some blood donations from the hospital or a blood bank. However, that wasn't always feasible, as not enough people donated and it was better fresh from the tap. It's only in the last hundred years that things have changed and although laws were put into place before that, and people were ordered to give blood donations, sometimes there still wasn't enough to satisfy every vampire, which is why the artificial stuff was created in the first place."

"The artificial stuff is okay," JJ said making a face, "but it's nothing spectacular."

"Believe me, I understand, as I've actually had the fresh human blood," Rossi said his eyes rolling back in his head he thought about those days that were over a century behind them, "but things had to change, because our kind can decimate a population in no time. I'll gladly drink the artificial stuff if it means I can get a job when I want to just to keep myself entertained or if I can go out among the humans without wearing sunglasses to hide my eyes or just at night. I won't deny that it was hard to stop cold turkey and just drink the artificial stuff, but I did it as I knew very well if I kept it up I would have been hunted down and destroyed and even I can't take down 20 or 30 vampires at the same time."

"Well, thanks to you switching it allowed us to meet," JJ said trying not to think about the fact that her mate had used to drain humans for food. She knew that times had been different back 1500 or even a 100 years ago and even though humans had known about vampires, that didn't stop the vampires in question from hunting them for food.

"It did and I will always be grateful for that," Rossi said. "Now, I'm going to take you upstairs and love you forever."

"Dave, the children," JJ protested laughingly, as Dave swiftly swept her off her feet and started to carry her towards their bedroom.

"Our daughters are perfectly capable of looking after Antonio for a few hours or even a few days," Rossi said ignoring his mate's protest. "After we are back at work I won't be able to make love to you for days on end, except sometimes on the weekend so I'm going to take advantage of it while I can."

Put like that JJ could certainly understand why Dave seemed to be so sexually charged and had been ever since she had finished a transformation in just over two days. It explained why her mate insisted they make love so much and at every possible opportunity.

"If you aren't pregnant and have had a baby by time we leave here it won't be for lack of trying," Rossi told JJ. "We have plenty of people to help us look after any children we do have, as otherwise, I wouldn't be so intent on getting you pregnant again right now. Besides, I think Rosaline, Reagan Antonio need another sibling or two as I was an only child and my next sibling wasn't born until after I was already grown."

"That's true," JJ agreed, "and a vampire pregnancy is bound to be easier on me then when I was human, so we might as well get started."

"Good, I'm glad you agree," Rossi said with a smug grin.

"Even if I didn't you would still do your best to convince me otherwise, so I might as well just give in now," JJ said laughing.

"That I would, so it's good you just gave in, as I can be very persistent," Rossi agreed, even as he carried her into their bedroom and gently kicked the door shut behind them.

"As if I wasn't aware that already," JJ laughed, even as her clothes were ripped from her body and she was gently placed on the bed.

"Let's get started shall we?" Rossi said already having gotten out of his clothes in just a few seconds.

"Yes, let's," JJ agreed eagerly wanting her mate to enter her as soon as possible.

"You are absolutely gorgeous," Rossi told her sincerely. "I am so lucky to have found you after over 1500 years of existence."

JJ couldn't blush anymore, so she simply pulled Dave's head down so that she could kiss him on the lips thoroughly to thank him for the compliment.

"I thought you were the most gorgeous guy I had ever laid eyes on, even though I knew that was partly because you were a vampire, but you still, would've been the most handsome guy in the room, even if you had been born human like I was. I'm sure I still would've fallen extremely hard for you if that was the case."

Dave said nothing and simply started making love to his mate gently and slowly, even though he knew that his Jennifer didn't mind it rough as well, but he was in the mood to be tender and his mate certainly never complained and in fact participated eagerly. There were times when his Jennifer rode his cock like a bunking bronco and he enjoyed it just as much as she enjoyed it when he made love to her the old fashioned way. Dave was sure that the two of them would be experimenting with different ways to make love over the centuries and he was more then looking forward to it.

~~~Unexpected Bonds~~~


	20. Chapter 20

Part 20

"Well, it looks like you succeed in your goal to get me pregnant," JJ said, as she looked at herself in the mirror and saw her slightly rounded belly, which told her that she couldn't be more than a week pregnant, as she usually started to show around the three day mark because she was so slender, while someone like Emily while still small in the stomach was bigger then her and therefore, she didn't show for a few days longer.

Dave simply smirked looking smug and satisfied. "I doubt very much that you will get pregnant again for a few years, as we won't have as much time to have sex since we're gone so much of the time. Even this time it took three months of concentrated effect for you to get pregnant and making love was almost all we did besides, spending time with Antonio, Rosaline and Reagan."

"Just in case I'm going to have my womb removed as soon as I am allowed out around humans without supervision again," JJ said.

Dave didn't bother to tell her that she was doing so well learning to control her bloodlust and strength, which were the two main factors of why newborns usually needed a year to gain control of before they were allowed to return to society, that she could return to the BAU right now, they both could. Sure hearing, smell, speed were also factors and would take awhile to learn to live with since they were extremely enhanced if you had once been human, but not the main ones as they didn't destroy things or drain people of their blood. One of the main reasons that he had wanted to get his mate pregnant right away was so she wouldn't question why she couldn't go back to work, since she had her bloodlust and strength under control. Well that and he genuinely loved children and would like to have hundreds with her, although not all at the same time.

"You might not want to do that," Rossi said.

"Why? It'll grow back or at least that's what Emily was telling PG and me awhile back," JJ questioned.

"Because while a vampire who is born one womb does eventually grow back, although why it does is unknown, I'm not sure the same is true for those that are made vampire's for whatever reason," Rossi explained. "I just don't want to take the risk and therefore, possibly give up our ability to have children."

"You're thinking that in that way that a vampire who is made is different and that their womb might not grow back," JJ said.

"Yes," Rossi agreed. "I don't know for certain you see and I'd rather you not take the risk until we do know, as I want to have many more children with you before I get myself permanently fixed."

JJ studied her mate for a moment and then asked a little suspiciously, "You're not just telling me this to stop me from having children for a few years, are you? Because it's awfully convenient timing of you telling me this, just as I'm talking about having it done."

"No, I'm not just telling you this so you can possibly have more children before you are ready to do so," Rossi promised in an offended tone. "I truly am not sure whether or not a vampire who is not born that way can have their womb removed and then have it grow back and I just want to confirm that you are the same in that way, before you have done that's all."

"Alright then," JJ agreed relaxing. "So shall we go tell our three children that they are getting a new brother or sister sometime in the five or so weeks?"

"They'll be thrilled and you know it," Rossi told his mate.

"They will," JJ agreed, as she put her arms around Dave's neck and then stood on her tiptoes to kiss him.

"I'll contact a doctor that specializes in the birth of vampire children and they'll be on standby just in case it's twins or something and they have to perform a c-section," Rossi said. "I've delivered a few babies in my time, but if you need an operation I would have no idea what to do, but I can help out in an emergency."

"That's a good idea," JJ agreed. "I want the same one that delivered our other three children if at all possible."

"I'll do my best to get him here," Rossi promised, "as I would prefer him to, since he did deliver our other three children, but if we can't we'll get him to recommend someone."

"I'm happy about his child, but after this we're going to have to come up with a way to prevent pregnancy if I can't have my uterus removed, as I don't want another child for at least a few years and I'd prefer this one to be grown and gone before we have anymore," JJ told him.

"I'll consult with some experts on that subject and I'll ask several different ones, as one person might be wrong, but not three or four," Rossi promised.

"Oh, three or four different people might still be wrong it's just not as likely," JJ said. "Now, I suggest we go tell our children the news."

"Alright," Rossi said, as he held his mate close for a moment, swearing to himself to always protect the woman he loved and never allow anything to happen to her for he loved her more than life itself, as she had become his life from the moment he had first laid eyes on her, but then that was the way it was with all mates.

"I love you," JJ told Dave putting her head on his broad shoulder.

"I love you to," Rossi said, as he kissed the side of her neck. "Come on let's go tell the munchkins the good news."

JJ laughed and when Dave reluctantly released her they went in search of their children to tell them the good news.

~~~Unexpected Bonds~~~

"So what did Dave want?" Emily asked as she snuggled into her husband very comfortable embrace. "It sounded like good news."

"Oh, it was, apparently JJ is pregnant," Hotch told Emily who stare at him in astonishment. "Dave was so happy that he was almost bouncing off the walls."

"They've already had three and JJ's already pregnant again," Emily said her lips twitching in amusement.

"Yes, she is, but this will be her first full vampire child and I'm told this one going to be the last one for awhile. I suspect that the only reason JJ got pregnant again so soon is because the baby will be born before she and Dave come back to work and will be about a month old."

"I suspect that Dave got her pregnant because JJ was getting antsy with the confinement as I certainly would be antsy if it was me being confined," Emily said.

"It might've been an accident, as there's certainly not much to do out in the middle of nowhere with just the two of them and JJ isn't one that does well with inactivity," Hotch said.

"In other words, the only thing to do is to have sex a lot," Emily said her lips twitching.

"Well, we made sure there was plenty of board games for the children to play with their parents and also books and a TV with plenty of DVDs to watch, but JJ is not one to sit and watch a lot of television. And although she enjoys reading she'll be able to go through books really fast once she can handle them without ripping the pages. These things will only keep her entertained for a few months, but definitely not for a year and so Dave distracting her is the only way that she's not going to feel confined. Not to mention, she's a newborn so her emotions are going to be harder to control then somebody who is decades or centuries old. She's doing really well according to Dave, but her emotions are going to be the hardest thing to control once she gets control of her bloodlust and strength that is. I suspect she'll have to work to control her temper or not to get angry to easily at least for the next few years," Hotch explained.

"Yes, that does make sense, as we all went through this stage when we were young, especially those that were turned into vampires. Even those that are born go through it during there first few years, just not as severely as someone who is made a vampire does, because those humans, magicals or shifters that are turned into one of us aren't used to their emotions being so strong. Those that are born with extremely strong emotions means we learn while we are still children how to control them as we could destroy the something or someone if we lose our temper," Emily agreed. "As for JJ, I don't blame her for not doing well with being confined as some people are just too active to enjoy being housebound. I suspect that even if she was pregnant when it was time for her to leave her confinement she still would've come back to work. A vampire pregnancy isn't as tough on one of our kind as it is on a human and she is a vampire now after all, so there would be no need for enforced bed rest."

"Yes, that's true and she wouldn't have to be out for six weeks to eight weeks after her c-section if she had to have one, as she would be back toward the very next day so long as they had someone to look after the new baby," Hotch agreed.

"I'm just glad they'll be back soon, as we've been shorthanded for a long time now and although I understand the reason behind it, it'll be nice to have some of the pressure taken off," Emily said.

"Well, Dave wanted to take the time off to be with her and I couldn't really deny him," Hotch said, "as not only would he have gone anyway, somebody had to be there that JJ trusted. Dave's her sire now as well as her husband and mate, since it was his venom that turned her into a vampire and besides, you can't leave a newborn by themselves anyway. We can handle the pressure for a few more months and then they'll be back and they won't be gone for so long again. It is difficult to be so shorthanded and it doesn't help that both JJ and Dave work with us, instead of one of them having a different profession or both of them already being vampires, but we'll manage as we have been for just over nine months now. To tell you the truth I've never seen Dave or JJ so happy, so I'll gladly be shorthanded for a little while so long as they continue to be that way."

"Well, having someone to permanently share your life does make a difference, as I ought to know," Emily said, even as she leaned up to kiss her mate on the lips. "I can definitely understand why both of them have been so happy lately, as I've certainly been far happier since I found you and I hope you've been the same."

"I shouldn't have to tell you that I definitely have been," Hotch agreed immediately kissing the top of his wife's head. "My life was very lonely before I met you, especially when I wasn't working, as that kept me distracted from what my personal life was like, but now we have each other and our three children, with many more to come in future decades that makes me extremely happy. I know deep in my soul I'll never be lonely again with you in my life and our children too even if we know they will grow up on us and be gone in just a few short years."

"Yes, children do grow up," Emily agreed, "but hopefully, they'll visit us often or at least call or email."

"They will," Hotch said. "We can also go visit them whenever they are once we decide to retire from the BAU that is. Most if not all vampires travel a great deal in the course of their lives as you know, even if they settle somewhere for a decade or two before they move on."

"Our kind only travel so much because we get bored easily," Emily stated and Hotch nodded in agreement.

"That is one of the serious downsides of living forever," Hotch agreed.

"At least we'll have JJ, Dave and Spencer, to share eternity with as even if we separate and go our own way I'm sure we'll stay in contact and see each other every decade or two."

"Yes, I'm certainly glad that JJ and Spencer were turned into vampires and that Dave already was one," Hotch agreed, "as this way we won't lose two of the people we have become very close to, three if you count Dave. I only wish that Garcia and Morgan would agree to be turned into vampires to since I am close to all of them."

"I am to, but all we can do is ask them if that's something they want to do, but if they don't then we have to accept their decision and can't force the issue," Emily said.

"This is the problem with becoming close to somebody who isn't one our our kind," Hotch admitted. "Don't get me wrong I don't regret becoming friends with Morgan and Garcia or Gideon for that matter, but I know I'm going to miss them when they eventually die of old age."

"I will to, but we'll deal with it," Emily said. "We can't lock ourselves away from human contact or becoming close to someone who is mortal as that's a good way to go insane and lose touch with reality and we both know where that would eventually lead."

"I know, we'll both make close friends over the centuries only to eventually lose them, because they are mortal and while that will be painful it will keep us in touch with our emotions and will keep us from being too isolated from the rest of society," Hotch agreed.

The two continued to quietly talk for a long time before Hotch simply picked his mate up in his arms and headed upstairs in order to make love to her, which was something that both of them loved to do.

~~~Unexpected Bonds~~~

500 years later

"This is the life!" Emily exclaimed watching the Eiffel Tower that was all lit up like a beacon against the night sky. Emily snuggled very comfortably in her husband's arms, as he stood behind her with his chin on the top of her head. The Eiffel Tower was a historical monument that would stand for centuries to come and hopefully, forever and it was also a symbol of love as many courting couples had told each other they loved each other underneath it and proposed marriage. The Eiffel Tower was a symbol of what was possible and also a symbol of hope and love. It had become as well known as the Leaning Tower of Pisa, the Statue of Liberty or the Taj Mahal.

The two of them had been married not quite 500 years, but they had met five centuries ago even if they had only been married like 497 of those years. She and Aaron along with Dave and Jennifer Rossi, formerly Jareau and Spencer Reid had worked side-by-side for many, many years. Morgan and Garcia had eventually retired and two other agents had taken their place and then two more after them.

Finally she and Aaron had retired after a hundred years for her, as her husband had been working with the BAU considerably longer.

"I love you," Hotch told his mate softly kissing the top of her head. "Life has never been boring since you appeared like a dream come true."

"No, life has been an adventure ever since I met you," Emily agreed easily, even as she turned to kiss Aaron on his ever willing lips.

She and Aaron had had more than 50 children together in that 500 years and the fact of the matter was that she was pregnant now and this pregnancy hadn't exactly been planned, not that either one of them was complaining, since most of them had been spaced out far enough for them to be able to enjoy themselves for a few years before the next one or two or even three came along as she had had triplets several times, as well as twins and singletons, although it had mostly been just one. She was only a week pregnant this time and it must've been on their first night here in the most romantic city in the world.

"So what do you suspect we'll have this time," Hotch asked casually.

"I don't really know and I don't really care either, since we have had plenty of both, although I admit that we have more boys than girls so another little girl would be great."

"Or even two of them?" Hotch asked with a smile.

"Well, if I did happen to have twins neither one of us is about to object," Emily teased him.

"Definitely not, as two little girls that look like their mother would be pretty awesome," Hotch said, as he leaned down to kiss his wife and mate on the lips.

"Personally, I think they should look like you," Emily teased lightheartedly back. "You're the one that all the women are always swarming over whenever we go to a bar or a nightclub."

"Oh, and the men don't swarm over you as if they're the bee and you're the pollen?" Hotch teased right back.

"What they are, are pests," Emily shot back. "I remember one guy in particular about a 150 years ago. We were in New York for new years and we were in a bar having a few drinks and just dancing the night away and this one guy kept trying to cut in, even though I kept brushing him off."

"Oh, yes, I remember that," Hotch remembered with a grimace. "I came this close to punching his nose and breaking it. I likely would have pulverized his nose at least instead of just breaking it though I was so furious, so I restrained myself." Hotch held two of his fingers less then an inch apart and in fact the skin was almost touching to show how close he had been to doing that guy some serious bodily damage. "I know it's only natural for a vampire to attract their prey even when we're not trying, but that doesn't mean I don't get annoyed at the way some of them can be persistent or that you don't."

"It's life," Emily said philosophically. "The only way to avoid that kind of thing is to put ourselves in a glass bubble and not interact with the world around us. I think a few minor annoyances aren't to much to put up with to be able to live our lives the way we want to."

"Yes, you're right," Hotch agreed. "It was more than annoying at the time, as I really wanted to tear that guy limb from limb and the only thing that stopped me was I didn't want to cause a scene, as we were trying to live as quietly as possible."

"I don't call killing that pedophile a few years back to living quietly," Emily laughed.

"Now that was fun," Hotch grinned ferociously. "That guy more than deserved it though, as he had raped and killed more than 20 children before we finally tracked him down."

"Yes, that was fun. He was certainly prolific," Emily agreed with a rather grim smile. "We certainly tortured him for a few days before we finally put him out of his misery."

"And the government still doesn't know who killed him and if we're extremely lucky they never will," Hotch said.

"They won't ever discover who did it, as we were really careful to cover our tracks," Emily said, even as she snuggled back into her mate's arms. "That's not the first child molester we've killed and it won't be the last, I only wish we could go after some of the other types of criminals, the ones that never change because it's not in them to."

"No, it's better if we do stick to child molesters," Hotch said, "although believe me, I'd like to go after some of those men and women who murder, especially those that murder children."

"Yes, I know we can't fix all the evil in the world," Emily sighed, as she took a sip of her drink which was champagne mixed with blood.

"So have you heard from Dave and JJ lately or Spencer and Keziah?" asked Hotch.

"I have heard from Dave and JJ and I've been meaning to tell you, but you throughly distracted me by ripping my clothes off and making love to me before we could even make it to the bed," Emily said with a shit-eating grin as she remembered that. That scene had happened the first day after they had gotten here and they had spent hours making love before going out to see some of the sites of Paris. This was not the first time they had been to France or even the first time they had been to Paris and it wouldn't be the last. It also didn't mean that they didn't enjoy themselves to the hilt, to the contrary they did, as cities changed, even if that took decades or longer, so there was always something new to see. They had fucked each other senseless more than once in the short week they had been here and also gone out both in the daytime and at night to explore every inch of the city and every curvy little backstreet.

"Well, it is our wedding anniversary and I am allowed to make love to my wife as much as I like on that particular day," Hotch explained with a lecherous grin.

Emily laughed uproariously at her husband's words and said through her chuckles, "You do that no matter what day it is. Sometimes we spend days making love and doing little else."

"You've never objected before," Hotch said knowing he was being teased, "so you can't start complaining now, as it's way too late."

"I wasn't complaining just pointing out facts," Emily denied. "I would never complain about how much we make love since I happen to enjoy it as much as you do."

"Good," Hotch growled possessively his arms tightening a little around Emily's still slim waist as if to keep her from escaping his grip. That slimness wouldn't last long though as she already had a little pregnancy bump and that bump would rapidly expand until her stomach looked like a beach ball.

Emily know that Aaron could still be a little possessive towards her, even though they had been together for 500 years and married for 497 of it. Emily knew that he secretly feared that she and him being together was a wonderful dream and that he would wake from it at any moment. The only problem with that analogy was that vampires didn't sleep. Emily believed that Aaron feeling as if he was in some dream went all the way back to his childhood where his parents hadn't loved him like they should and so now he would always be that insecure little boy deep inside that only wanted to be loved or have someone to love, something she was more than willing to do, with as much love and passion as she could.

"You don't have to worry I'm not going anywhere," Emily assured her mate gently, even as she snuggled into his chest.

"I know," Hotch said softly seeming to come out of his possessive mode. He didn't bother to apologize, because he and Emily had had this discussion many times before and he knew that his mate understood that inside he would always that little boy that craved his parents love.

"In any case, JJ called me while you were down at the gift shop ordering all those flowers for me," Emily said getting back to the original subject gesturing around the room. The honeymoon suite that they were staying in was covered in roses as they filled every nook and cranny of the room leaving barely enough room to walk. Red, which was the color of love.

"It's our anniversary, and you deserve roses at the very least, as it's not like I could take you out to dinner, since we don't eat," Hotch said. He had ordered so many roses for their suite that they filled the room with their wonderful fragrance and he and Emily had made love amongst them more than once in the last few days.

"You spoil me," Emily said, even as she kissed her mate on the lips.

"You deserve it," Hotch said. "The last 500 years wouldn't have been so wonderful without you in it, as I remember very well what my life was like before you and I met. Besides, I like spoiling you."

"That's been obvious ever since you and I met," Emily said unable to keep the tenderness and love out of her voice and really she didn't bother to try.

Hotch just chuckled at his mate's rejoiner. "Besides, you spoil me just as much as I do you so in that we are equals."

"Why should I let you be the only one that shows how much they care?" Emily asked rhetorically. "I love you, just as much as you do me and if you are going to spoil me rotten with all these gifts then I'm going to do the same for you, so you know that I love you just as much."

"You've let me know everyday that you love me, and you don't have to do anything at all," Hotch said softly.

"I could say the same thing about you," Emily told mate. "Just sitting together reading or whatever we are doing is enough for me."

"But what woman doesn't like to be spoiled sometimes?" Hotch asked with a smile.

"That's true enough, as I like pretty things, although I'm perfectly capable of buying them for myself. I do appreciate everything you've given me though, as it's more special then if I get it for myself."

"I know, why do you think I do it?" Hotch smirked sounding smug making Emily giggle, which was a sound that delighted Hotch, as it was music to his ears, so he tried to make her giggle as often as possible.

"Anyway, JJ and I talked for quite a long time and apparently she's also pregnant again, although farther along then I am," Emily added.

"So how many children does this make for Dave and her?" Hotch asked with a chuckle always amazed by the fact that a lot of times JJ and Emily got pregnant very close together by sheer coincidence.

"Not as many as we do, but that just means that JJ is better at not having them close together or maybe she's just not as fertile," Emily said. "I believe it's around 25, maybe 30, if you don't count the four she had before she was turned. Not to mention Henry and Michael."

Henry and Michael Rossi, were both vampires now, although they had started off as human. They had agreed to be turned back in the in the early 21st century and they had been in their late 20s when that had occurred. Dave had been more than happy to change them Hotch remembered, as that way neither Dave or JJ would lose them, which both he and Emily could understand, since they both loved JJ's twins by another man to and so did their godfather Spencer Reid who was also now a vampire.

"She's had fewer twins that's all," Hotch said, "I think she's had then maybe five times in 500 years and also we must consider the fact that she's not half human like you are and so that likely has something to do with it as well."

"I hadn't thought of it like that, but you're right sometimes full vampires don't get pregnant very easily and so one every 5 to 10 years is about average, although sometimes they come along sooner or much later then is average," Emily agreed.

"And she also could've had her uterus removed, so she didn't have anymore until it grew back," Hotch said. "After all, you do that quite frequently so that we can't have anymore children right away. In any case, it could be any number of reasons that JJ doesn't get pregnant as frequently."

"True enough," Emily conceded.

The two were silent for a long time as they sipped their champagne and refilled the glasses when they were empty as it wasn't like vampires could get drunk and there was more blood than champagne in the bottle anyway.

"So have you heard from Spencer and Keziah?" Emily asked after a few minutes of content and comfortable silence.

"Not in awhile," Hotch admitted. "I'm not worried though, as not much can harm a vampire and sometimes you don't see your family for decades until they either contact you or you literally run into them. The last I knew they were in Rome exploring the coliseum and other historic sites and for all I know they might still be there, as Rome is a fascinating city, with plenty to see and do."

"You've been there?" Emily asked with the perfectly raised eyebrow.

"Yes, but it was long before I met you," Hotch said. "We can go if you like, as I haven't been in probably 800 years."

"Well, we've been a lot of places, but not to Rome, so I think that's a great idea," Emily said, "but after this one is at least two, maybe three years old."

"We could travel after they reach two and that way they'll be better prepared for college when they reach four years old," Hotch said. "They need some experience in the world as they can't learn everything from books or from watching TV even if we settle somewhere long enough for them too."

"That might be possible so long as they have good control of their bloodlust," Emily agreed.

"If they don't then we won't be going anywhere," Hotch said firmly, "but so far most of our children have gotten good control of their bloodlust within two years, although there have been a few that it's taken longer learn that control."

"They inherited our stubbornness which helps," Emily said.

"Definitely," Hotch agreed immediately. "Now that we've finished the bottle why don't you let me take you to bed?"

"Is that all you ever think about—sex?" Emily asked with the snort, but then she grinned to show she wasn't really annoyed.

"Of course, it is," Hotch said leering playfully at his mate. "I'll never get enough of making love to my gorgeous, lovely, intelligent mate."

"There's no need to butter me up," Emily said mildly, as she would be blushing if she was capable of it. "You know I'm always up for that and it's not like we need to sleep so we can go out anytime of the day or night or simply stay here and fuck each other senseless."

"I'm not buttering you up, that's really what I think," Hotch told her sincerely.

"Personally, I think you're just trying to get me into the sack, not that that's all that hard to do," Emily teased him.

"Think what you like," Hotch shrugged unoffended. "I love you for more than just the spectacular sex. I love you for your sense of humor and the way that you help me hunt down those pedophiles that rape and abuse children. I love you for the way you make me laugh, as I definitely didn't laugh as much before I met as you who has helped me lighten up my normally serious personality. My life was dull before we met, even though I enjoyed my work, well, all except the paperwork, so I love you for many more reasons then just the sex as spectacular as that always is."

Emily laughed at that, as that was an old joke between her and Aaron. "Anybody who enjoys doing the mountain of paperwork that the government seems to thrive off of needs to have their heads examined."

"Well, at least I could get it done really fast due to vampire speed, but I definitely don't envy those people that have to do it at normal speed, as it takes them much longer, then it used to take for me to do it," Hotch said.

"Well, we haven't had do paperwork in 400 years, ever since we retired from the BAU," Emily said, "although I realize that we might have a job in the future where during a lot of paperwork is required."

"Well, that's for the future," Hotch said picking his mate up in his arms and heading back inside. "Now though I plan to take you to bed and love you forever."

"That's perfectly fine with me," Emily said snuggling suggestively into her mate's chest.

Hotch's inner vampire growled, as he raced both of them into the bedroom and was on top of his mate in two seconds flat.

The bed was king-sized, although much bigger then most of them and it made a lovely playground for the two of them to make love on. It was also a four-poster with a canopy and they could close the curtains so they wouldn't be disturbed and they often did just that in the short week they had been there.

No words were needed between the two of them as they knew each other so well after 500 years together and so they both anticipated each others needs. Emily offered her neck to her mate, which caused Hotch to growl possessively, as that gesture was one of love and acceptance between them and caused his inner vampire to just want to take care of her. The baring of Emily's neck was a sign that she was willing to concede control to him like she did for no one else, since he was definitely an alpha female just as he was an alpha male and alphas did not concede control easily.

Hotch begin to gently make love to his mate and Emily withered beneath him begging for more and he was more than happy to give into that demand.

The two of them made love for hours before they were finally sated and satisfied for the moment anyway and then they lay together just basking in the afterglow of their lovemaking.

"I love you," Emily told her mate softly even now she snuggled into his front, their legs so tangled together that it was going to take some time to separate them.

"I love you too," Hotch assured her, even as he kissed the side of her neck.

No more words were needed and so they simply lay silently together basking in their love for each other, a love that would never end no matter how many centuries they lived.


End file.
